Hazzard of the County
by EmelineCarter92
Summary: A.K.A season 8. Follow the good ol' boys again. With fan fiction you'll never see the end of 'em. Join your favorite characters, find out revelations and how the Dukes became trouble with the law. Some chapters might have a serious tone that was never captured in the show.
1. Forget Me Not

Chapter 1: Forget Me Not

-After Rosco crashed his patrol car while chasing the Duke Boys, he feigns amnesia. Boss and Rosco come up with a scheme, using his fake amnesia to drive the Dukes out of town for good.

* * *

**_Tonight on the Dukes, _**

A police car is chasing the General Lee.

**_Trouble seems to find the Duke boys once again._**

Bo and Luke are chasing someone in the General Lee. Rosco is right behind them.

**And just to think it all started with an accident.**

(Rosco climbs/stumbles out of his overturned car.

**Boss comes up with a scheme that'll run the Duke's out of town, rather than stickin' them behind bars. **Boss is in his office at the Boars Nest talking to Rosco. "They won't be comin' back for good."

**_And then this happens._**

Two guys, Boss, Daisy, Cooter and Bo and Luke are on the side of the road. Rosco has his gun pointed at all of them. One guy on Bo's left points a gun at Rosco. Bo kicks the guy. Luke grabs the gun that falls on the ground. Cooter punches the guy to his right in the jaw and the guy drops the gun.

Two guys jump Bo in the Barn at the Duke farm.

Cooter and Daisy are at Cooter's garage. The same two guys are getting gas. Cooter suddenly punches one and Daisy high kicks the other. They run to Cooter's tow truck.

**There's a lot of fightin' goin' on. How do you reckon that started? You best stick around and find out.**

After Rosco crashed his patrol car while chasing the Duke Boys, he feigns amnesia. Boss and Rosco come up with a scheme, using his fake amnesia to drive the Dukes out of town for good.

Rosco was sitting outside one of his speed traps as usual, waiting for the Duke boys to speed by. While Enos, was back at the police station. Rosco began wondering how the dipstick would've messed this one up, if he was on patrol as well. Soon enough he had the orange Dodge Charger in his sights and took off after it.

"Rosco P. Coltrane here." He said into the CB. "I got the Duke boys in hot pursuit. Kew. Kew. I repeat hot pursuit over." Then he put on a serious face. "Over."

"Over." Enos replied on the other end of the CB. Another boring day, at the office, Enos thought. He wished he was out chasing the Dukes too. He wouldn't catch 'em for nothin' but he still wanted to chase 'em. He leaned back in his chair and sighed.

The Sheriff's voice came back over the radio. "Kew, Kew. I got 'em now dipstick. Over."

"Sheriff now you best leave them Duke boys alone. They're my family now…" He waited for the Sheriff to yell at him, but he didn't. Maybe he had cut him off.

You see what Enos meant by family, was he and Daisy got married a few months back. And it was a fine one too. Doc Applebee found a way to treat Enos' hives and they got married the following week.

"Sheriff." Enos repeated into his radio. He got nothing back but the sound of static.

It had been a nice peaceful day, in Hazzard County. The familiar feeling of the roads as Bo Duke drove over them, the breeze through the open windows. His cousin in the passenger seat as always looked over at him in disapproval at his speeding. This time it was because Luke was convinced that were coming up near one of Rosco's speed traps. Bo exclaimed that it was farther down, though he didn't really actually know.

They got the answer, when Rosco's patrol car, was coming up behind them, sirens blazing. He wasn't going to let his cousin eat his ego. He was prepared to lose him. What he was about to do was what he called an air-borne shuck n' jive.

"Here we go." Bo said, honking the Generals horn as they jump a dirt ramp, off of Hazzard Creek. Rosco swerved to avoid it. He was going too past to put on the break and come to a complete stop on time. He drove over a flat rock sticking out of the ground. The forward momentum of the car and the combination of the backward momentum (from stomping on the brakes while the car was still in motion,) sent the car into the air, flipping over twice as it made contact with the ground again. Bo drove on, neither him nor Luke aware of what happened.

Enos was trying to get hold of Rosco. "Sheriff, come in." Enos still got no answer. He threw down the mike and sprang up from his chair. He got on his jacket and ran out the door of the County Sheriff's department. Whatever happened he hoped he was ok, it never too him too long to respond.

Seconds later he came bursting into the Dukes farm, which was also his home now. The front door swung back on its hinges, startling Daisy, who was sitting on the couch.

"I…I think the Sheriff might be hurt." Enos said to his wife Daisy. "I tried to reach him on his radio but he won't answer.

Jesse Duke, the Duke patriarch, entered from the kitchen. "I bet he's caught up with Bo and Luke again." Jesse said, imagining the boys trying to outrun Rosco. He smiled to himself, thinking. They wouldn't try to outrun Rosco, it was too easy.

"Now, you just wait Uncle Jesse." Daisy said, warning him not to jump to conclusions. But he was most likely right. They all had close calls when Rosco was chasing them. The boys had ended up in the pond, presumed dead, and Rosco had ended up in Hazzard Lake presumed dead. One of these days…..you could never be sure.

"Yeah." Enos agreed. "The sheriff might be in some terrible danger."

Rosco climbed out of the over turned patrol car. His balance was off and found it hard to walk straight for a minute. He'd been in this tight situation before. But this time he had hit his head. He put his hand to his head as if to stop the dizziness. He walked around the car, examining the damage. "What a horrendous crash. That's gonna come out of my pay check." He kicked one of the tires. A full half second past before he was hoping on one foot, holding it. "Doh." He called out.

_Looks like he's fine to me. _

Bo and Luke both were starting to wonder why they couldn't hear sirens behind them anymore. A few seconds had gone by since they had heard them.

"Luke we lost Rosco."

"He was right behind us. Did you see us lose him?"

Bo shrugged.

Luke sighed. "Pull over."

They pulled over to the side of the road. It was unlike Rosco to give up, on anything, especially if it involved them.

"He was chasin' us." Luke glanced out the back window. "Wonder where he's gone off to." Something bad better not have happed to Rosco, or he'd have it on for Bo. He had told him to slow down. They never meant anyone harm. They were just having fun. "Maybe we should go back. He could've blown a tire or somethin'.

"If we go back he'll probably give us a ticket." Bo said.

"Yeah you're right." Luke agreed. "We should call Cooter though." Luke said, just in case. "If he's having any trouble." Just as he was about to pick up the mike, Daisy came on the CB.

"Bo Peep to Lost Sheep." Daisy's voice came over the sound waves.

"Daisy, what's your 20?" Luke responded.

"Enos is here worried out of his mind about Rosco. He thinks something's happened to him."

"He said he was chasin' you guys but then he cut out." Enos said into the mike.

"I'm sure he's alright Enos." Bo said. He hoped he was right. But why was there a guilty feeling in his gut?

"Yeah, but we can't be too sure." Luke said. They could all be a little reckless sometimes.

Uncle Jesse was listening in. He didn't mean too. But this sounded like a very serious situation. "I say we go look for him. If anything happened to his car and he's on foot he'll be walking for days."

Bo and Luke back tracked to Willow Creek Road to look for Rosco. Daisy arrived in her jeep, Uncle Jesse riding along, followed by Enos in his patrol car.

Luke was the first one to spot it.

"That's Rosco's car." Luke said as they pulled over. He climbed out of the window even before the General came to complete stop. The patrol car was flipped over on its back. Luke ran over to the car. He could hear Daisy gasp, oh no, as she walked toward the scene. But she and the others stayed by the General Lee.

"Well, there's no sign of him. " Luke said after looking inside the vehicle. His voice was filled with relief but at the same time, worry.

Rosco went to Doc Appleby's to have the Doc look over him. It was better than to have to go to the hospital later. Rosco didn't like hospitals. They were full of the sick and the dying. It always gave him an eerie feeling when he walked into one, a felling of someone walking over his grave. He seemed ok enough not to go to the hospital.

He hadn't been hurt all those times he damaged his patrol car, going after the Dukes.

"You have a slight concussion Rosco. " The Doctor informed him."You should stay overnight for observation. "

"No, no, I got to get back to work. " He made to move off the bed, but Doc Appleby stopped him.

"Concussions are very serious Rosco. If you fall asleep, it can result in Amnesia..."

"Concussion? Amnesia? Doc you must be horrendously mistaken. I feel perfectly fine."

"I'm afraid I'm not mistaken Sheriff. What's best for you right now is staying here." Rosco would not like it but he had to stay. The Doctor leaves the room.

Giving the Doc enough time, Rosco grabs his hat off the hat stand. He opens the door and pears out the hallway, making sure the cost was clear. When it was he left the room. He placed his hat on his head and tip-toed down the hall.

Luke called Boss on the CB, telling him about the incident. He was worried about his brother in-law. He had been counting his money but he had bigger concerns when he heard Rosco was missing.

"Let us know if he turns up." Luke said to Boss.

The Dukes and Enos were standing by the damaged patrol car, waiting for Cooter.

"If something happened to Rosco I don't know what I'd do." Enos said. "He's like a best friend to me, even though he calls me a dipstick sometimes."

"He's like a friend to us too, even though he's always trying to catch us for things we didn't do." Bo said. He didn't really want to admit it, but he wanted Enos to feel better.

"What Bo means is, we won't give up looking for him until we find him."Luke said. The scene playing out was all too familiar. He hoped no one had kidnapped Rosco again, or that he was out there alone somewhere with a concussion.

"We'd be lost without him too." Daisy said her arms around her husband. She'd always liked Rosco. If she hadn't known any better she'd say that she was his favorite, out of all the Dukes. Now that she was Strate that shouldn't matter. She was still a Duke by blood.

"He's still out there walkin' somewhere." Jesse said, fearing the same thing as Luke. They best start looking for him before dark.

"He could be lost." Luke said, _if he was confused_. Rosco knew these roads, all the short cuts in and out of Hazzard.

"The Sheriff wouldn't get lost. He knows these roads like the back of his hand." Enos said.

"If he was injured…" Bo started. All of the Dukes seemed to be thinking the same thing. Makes ye wonder if they all have E.S.P.

"I just hope he ain't." Enos' voice took on a more worried tone.

"Guys, stop. You're upsetting Enos." Daisy scowled at them. "I'm sure he's fine Enos. He couldn't have gone far."

"Well come on, we got to get searchin." Luke said.

"Where ever he is we better find him fast. The sun will be settin' soon." Jesse told them.

Daisy and Jesse drove through town asking the city folk it they've seen Roscoe. Bo and Duke drive through Willow Creek road looking for Rosco.

Bo and Luke searched with no such luck.

"I just don't know where he could be. People just don't disappear out of nowhere." Bo said. They had stopped had the side of the road for a few seconds. Cooter had towed away Rosco's patrol car, for the ten millionth times.

_I know what you're thinking folks, but in Hazzard County they don't**.**_

"Let's hope Uncle Jesse and Daisy found him ok." Luke said. Bo put the car into reverse and turned the General around.

****Daisy and Jesse found Rosco walking on North Pine Road, the road closest into town. He had his boots in his hands, walking barefoot, his tie was undone.

"There he is Uncle Jesse." Daisy said, pointing ahead. She felt like stopping the jeep in the middle of the road, and running up to him and giving him a hug. She had shown friendly affection toward Rosco before. He would sometimes be surprised at it, giving out his familiar, "Jit, jit." when she hugged him. But fully reading his expression now told her others wise not to. She got a sense that maybe he was up to something.

"What in tarnasion is he doing way out here?" Jesse wondered. They got to get him out of this heat before he suffered a heat stroke. Now, if a Duke asked Rosco if he needed a ride Rosco would immediately turn down the offer. He didn't like receiving help from them, unless his life depended on it. Jesse wouldn't take his refusal this time. He was getting in the car even if he had to drag him in.

They must have startled Rosco because when they pulled up to him, stopping in front of him, he nearly jumped out of his skin. Daisy kept Dixie running and jumped out, figuring what the hay. She threw her arms around him.

Uncle Jesse turned sideways in his seat, facing the door but he didn't get out.

* * *

The gravel and rocks were rough against the bottom of his feet. He might as well have been walking on glass. He had taken off his boots. They were starting to hurt his feet the longer he walked. And this Georgia heat wasn't doing him any good either. He loosened his tie, the top button of his uniform already unbuttoned. He muttered under his breath at the predicament the Dukes had gotten him into. "…those Dukes. When I get 'em I'll cuff 'em and stuff 'em. That's what I'll do." He was staring down at the ground. He didn't notice the jeep coming toward him until it stopped inches from him. Rosco slightly jumped.

Daisy got out of the Jeep and hugged him. Rosco liked her hugs. He'd just wish she'd do it more often. He only got them when he was rescued after getting himself in trouble. She always had seemed to like him despite what he pulled on them, even without Boss. Her hugs were welcoming and had a warm feeling. He started to wonder if she could be….

"Rosco, we've been looking all over for ye." She broke the embrace and looked at him. "We're ye been, sugar?"

"You know…." He stopped his sentence short, an idea brewing in his brain, or what was left of it after Boss Hogg had made him corrupt all those years ago.

"Are you alright? " Daisy asked him. He had a puzzled look on his face that made her concerned.

"I'm fine. Who did you say yer name was again?" He glanced at Jesse, hoping he didn't see through the facade. One of the many things Jesse was good at was read through him like reading see through paper.

"It's me Daisy, and Uncle Jesse."

"Nice to meet you Miss Daisy."

"I don't know what you're playing at Coltrane. You know who we are…." Jesse scolded.

"I don't think he does Uncle Jesse." Daisy frowned. Somethin' wasn't right about Rosco's expression.

Daisy and Uncle Jesse dropped Rosco off at the Boar's Nest, thinking that he was indeed fine.

Rosco, where have you been?" Boss asked as Rosco entered his office.

"Rosco? I don't know who this Rosco is…I don't even know what my name is..

"Oh, my goodness. Those Dukes really have done it now. I'll make sure they'll pay for it this time.

"Now, Boss…."

"I….You know who I am! Do "you "know who you are?" Boss puts the empathises on the you.

"I'm Rosco P. Coltrane. Sheriff of Hazzard County. You see it's like when you were knocked on the head, and the lights were dimmed down a bit. So all I have to do is dim the lights down a little bit."

"Rosco if you dim the lights down any further you'll be a bigger dipstick than Enos." A thought brewed in Boss's head.

"What is it?" Rosco asked.

" I finally have a plan that'll get those Dukes out of our hair once and for all."

"Which is?"

"You."

"Me?"

"You continue to fake your amnesia. Them Duke boys will have to pay for the damages to your patrol car and for your condition."

"My condition…." He'd forgotten the exact term for it. Faking forgetting things wouldn't cause too much concern. The Dukes didn't really care about him anyway, maybe Daisy. Daisy was the only Duke he tolerated. She was a Strate now. He didn't know if that would change. He guessed it wouldn't. He tolerated Enos, only because he reminded him of Enos's father. That boy was like his father more ways than one, expect being a dipstick. Eno's father had died when Enos was a young boy. He had died on a ridge run. Rosco had lost his father at a young age too, but under very different circumstances. He tried his best to get back to the basis of his plan. He was easily distracted sometimes.

"Amnesia, you imbecile." Boss reminded him.

"But I don't have amnesia." Maybe that was the word for it.

"Which is why you're going to be faking it, and there is no way those Dukes can afford both; they'll be forced out of town"

"Kew. Kew. I love it. I love it. We're finally gonna get them Duke boys for sure." He closes the door behind him. Boss was going along with his idea and he didn't even know it.

Bo and Luke found Rosco at the Boars Nest. Enos arrived shortly after. Rosco made up a good shuck and jive story. Ole Rosco was tellin' them that he didn't remember much about what happened. And Bo and Luke seemed to buy it.

"Right." Bo said. He wasn't really buying. Rosco didn't look like he even had a scratch on him. "Let's get you back to the Boar's nest and get you some coffee."

Luke leaned close to Bo. "He hasn't been drinkin' Bo." He said in a whisper.

"Sure looks like it." Bo whispered back. Then he spoke to Rosco. "How about it?"

"Yeah, sure." Rosco agreed.

"Sheriff, you don't like coffee." Enos reminded him.

"Oh, I… I don't? No I don't." Rosco couldn't stand the stuff. He walked over to his brand new patrol car. The three younger men watch him as he fiddles with the CB and radio dials.

After a few exchanged words between Bo and Luke, Bo was the one who volunteered to approach Rosco. The Duke cousins weren't convinced that everything was alright. The boys thought that Rosco tolerated Bo more, but they didn't know that Bo actually irritated Rosco the most.

"Are you ok there Rosco? You seem to be forgetting things." Bo said. He hoped it wasn't another case of "another Rosco."

"Thanks for asking, Luke." He didn't plan on calling Bo, Luke. It just slipped out.

"I'm Bo, Rosco.' Not this again. He tried to paint a picture of them trying to get Rosco to the hospital. Bo never met anyone as stubborn as Rosco, except one of Uncle Jesse's goats.

"Yeah, I knew that." Rosco shut the patrol car door and headed inside the Boars Nest.

Bo walked back over to Enos and Luke.

"Sheriff isn't in his right mind is he?" Enos asks worried. He hadn't taken the eyes off the Sheriff, not even after he disappeared inside.

"No Enos, I don't think he is."Bo said. Enos gets in his patrol car and drives away. They boys wave to him.

"I haven't seen Enos this upset about Rosco

Enos wasn't the only one. No matter how many times Rosco irritated him and Luke by chasing 'em it was fun. They always went back to check if Rosco was alright. Before Bo made up his mind rather he was going into the Boars Nest or not, Rosco came out as if on perfect timing.

Bo walked toward Rosco. Luke was shocked that Bo approached Rosco a second time. He wasn't backing off until he made sure Rosco really was ok.

"Are you sure you're ok?" Bo asked him. "We can take you to Doc Appleby…."

"I already visited the Doctor and he gave me a clean bill of health." Bo and Luke give each other sheepish looks. "If you don't believe me you just call him yourself."

"Nah, we believe you Rosco." Bo said.

"Good, good. Now where's that Angus fellow?"

"You mean Enos?" Luke asks.

"Yes, that's it Enos."

"Say, Rosco, what about the speeding ticket you gave us because you were chasing us last week." Bo piped up.

"Don't worry about that now boys. I got to go catch that . Kew."

"Huh, looks like he's better already." Luke said coming over to Bo. They watched him lean into his police car and grab the CB mike.

**_Yeah I think he's more than just better already._**

He leans into the car. "Red dog, to dipstick come in, over."

Bo and Luke look at each other. "We got to get him to Doc somehow." Bo said.

"How about we rush 'im and push 'im into the car?" Luke knew they might be charged with kidnapping and grand theft auto later, but it was the only way of getting Rosco to the Doctor, before anything bad happened.

"I'm not gonna do it, you do it." Bo protested the idea.

"On a count of three we both do it."

"One." Bo counted.

"Two."

"Three."

They both run forward and Bo shoves Rosco into the police car. Bo gets into back and Luke gets into the driver's side and shuts the door.

"You are kidnapping a sheriff…I'm gonna get you Duke boys for this."

Luke starts the engine and drives away.

Rosco takes out his gun from his holster. "Now you pull over this vehicle while you have a chance."

The police car hits a dip in the road.

The bump made Rosco's gun arm go all over the place.

"Rosco, watch were you're wavin' that thing.' Luke ducks to avoid getting hit by Rosco's arm.

**_I wouldn't want to be this situation right now, especially when Rosco has a gun in his hand. He couldn't even aim right at a broad side of a barn._**

Bo leapt from the back seat, grabbing Rosco's arm. The gun goes off, sending a bullet into the roof of the car.

Luke swerved and came to a stop. Rosco reached for the door and gets out.

Enos' cop car was a few feet away. Rosco ran to it, opening the door and dove in. Enos speeds off.

Bo climbs into the front seat next to Luke. "We gotta catch up to 'em."

They chase after Enos and Rosco. When they round the bend the other patrol car had vanished.

"How did we lose 'em?" Bo said.

"Bo you notice this ain't the General we're drivin'" Luke reminded him.

"We better head to town. " Bo said. "I'm guessin' that's the most obvious place."

"How about we split up and look for him?" Luke asked. That way they would find him faster.

**_While Bo stayed in town to look out for Rosco, Luke was at the farm informing Uncle Jesse. Jesse decided they should try to get a hold of Doc Appleby._**

Bo came inside the farm house.

"We called the hospital." Luke says. "The Doctor says he's got a concussion. He shouldn't sleep for at least 24 hours."

"What do we do?"

"We should find him and make sure he doesn't fall asleep."

"That'd be mighty hard." Bo said. He was thinking about their encounter earlier.

"Yeah." Luke said, thinking the same thing. "We all know how stubborn Ol' Roscoe P. Coltrane can be."

The Dukes see Rosco outside the courthouse with Boss Hogg.

"I don't have amnesia. I was faking it." Rosco told them.

"Rosco!" Boss shouted to warn him.

"You made me all flip over and I was all shook up. Kew. Kew." He laughed at his own joke. Then he said with a serious face. "You owe me…." He turns to his brother in law. Rosco seemed lost in thought. He was never good with money. "eh…what do they owe me boss?

"3,000 dollars for the patrol car and 5,000 for the hospital bill…"

"Now just you wait a minute." Luke began.

"You know we can't afford that." Bo said. All three cousins started arguing.

"How much is that farm of yours? " Boss put a cigar in his mouth and lit it.

"Why you grubby little pig squealin' no good..." Uncle Jesse stepped forward.

"Hey, hey." Bo and Luke cut him off.

"Uncle Jesse!" Daisy said shocked.

**_I ain't never heard Uncle Jesse talk like that have you? Well if it was my property I grew up on, being threatened I would to._**

"If you leave Hazzard County and never come back, all charges will be dropped." Boss put a cigar in his mouth. "Even your probation. You'll be free to cross the county line. "He and Rosco go inside the court house.

**_Uh oh that sounds worse than them not ending up behind bars._**

Enos comes up to the Dukes. They tell him what just happened.

"What do we do?" Luke asked.

"You heard 'em." Bo said.

"I guess we'll have to leave, huh?" Daisy asked. There was no getting out of this one.

Uncle Jesse wouldn't stand for it. "There's no way us Dukes are giving up without a fight. This place is our home, you three grew up here."

"I know Uncle Jesse. " She just couldn't think of anything else they could do.

"Well, I guess it's the right thing to do." Jesse said.

"If you all are goin' I'm going too." Enos said. He had walked up to minutes into the conversation.

"Of course Enos, you're family. " Bo thought were else would he go?

"I'm going back to the farm and pack up a few things."Uncle Jesse told them. "You boys coming along to help?

"Sure." Luke said.

"We'll meet you there." Bo waved to them as Uncle Jesse, Enos and Daisy get in Daisy's car and drive away.

Rosco and Boss are still inside the courthouse. "We did it, we did it."

"And they won't be comin' back." Boss said.

"You mean won't be comin' back as in…"

"For good. They're not comin' back for good."

"What are you going to do with the farm?"

"I'm going to sell it. And you're going to drive out there and make sure the Dukes have cleared out by this evenin."

"Is that right?" Could he do that?

"Yes, it is. Assuming I was someone with morals I'd probably say it's wrong, but I don't have any." Boss laughs.

**_Looks like Rosco's thinkin' about somethin' and Boss didn't like him thinkin' He was figuring it wouldn't be Hazzard without the Dukes. And he was right._**

Rosco drives over to the Dukes later. They were still loading boxes into Jesse's pickup.

"Boss sent me over here to make sure you were cleared out."

"Did he now?" Uncle Jesse said not surprised. He was expecting J.D. would do something like that.

"Look I know someone who doesn't want you to leave." Rosco said.

"Now that someone wouldn't be you would it?"

"No. I would do no such thing."

Jesse knew Rosco. He never trusted a Duke but he still liked them more than he'd care to admit it. With them gone his job would mean nothing to him.

**_I don't know about you but I'd say Uncle Jesse looks like he also has something up his sleeve. _**

"When you go back into town tell him we're cleared out." Uncle Jesse heads toward his truck.

Now, wait a minute Jesse…." He goes over to the truck and rests his hands on the tailgate.

"Come on boys, Daisy." Uncle Jesse says as he gets into his truck.

Uncle Jesse reeves up his truck, dirt sprays on Rosco. Rosco losses his grip on the tail gate and falls flat on his stomach in the dirt. His hat falls off.

"So long Rosco." Jesse calls back to him.

Bo honks at Rosco as he and Luke past him in the General Lee. Daisy follows them. Rosco gets up, grabbing his hat. "I'm…I'm gonna get you…." But he doesn't move. Instead he watches them drive away.

Bo and Luke were driving in the General Lee. Uncle Jesse was in his truck in front of them, Daisy behind the General.

Bo was talking to Uncle Jesse on the CB. "Uncle Jesse if Rosco offered to help, why didn't you let him help us?"

"Rosco cares about us but he's too stubborn to admit it. We'll wait for awhile till we get back to town. And see how he does without us."

"He'll be missin' us like crazy." Bo said.

"Because he'll have no one to chase." Luke smirked.

At the Duke Farm,

"You can't sell the Duke Farm." Rosco told Boss.

Boss was looking through drawers and couch cushion. He looked at Rosco. "And why not?"

"Because they aren't here."

"I have every right to if it's abandoned." He turned back to what he was doing. "Now I know those documents are around here somewhere." He turned to Rosco and gave him an intent look.

"What?"

"Just don't stand there, you feather brain. Help me search for them."

Rosco helps Boss look for the contract for the property.

Later Rosco was sitting in his patrol car outside his favorite speed trap.

He tries to get hold of the Dukes on his CB.

"This is Rosco P. Coltrane. I know you Dukes have your ears on. Come in, over."

"Should we answer it?" Luke looked at Bo, who shrugged. Luke pressed down the button on the CB.

**_Rosco told them what Boss was up to._**

"Now he can't sell it if you're all here."

"Try to get Uncle Jesse…." Luke.

"I heard." Jesse's voice came over the CB.

"Well, we gotta go do somethin 'y'all." Daisy said.

"We're on it." Luke said. "We'll have to go back to Hazzard."

"Luke you think that's a wise idea? " Bo cautioned.

"Why not?" Luke asked. "We have gotten him out of tight spots before. Now he's returnin' the favor. The least we do is repay it. "

"But can we trust him? For all we know it could all be one big set up."

"That's a chance we'll have to take."

They all turned back around.

Bo, Luke, Daisy and Uncle Jesse saw Boss come out of the house.

" It's not yours anymore." Boss said, coming down the porch steps. "Some nice folks just bought it."

Two men come out of the house and walk past them.

Boss gets in his Cadillac and his driver drives them away.

"They must be city folk dressed like that." Bo said.

"Whoever they are, they didn't look friendly." Luke agreed with his cousin.

"Now boys, we can't judge a person how they're dressed." Uncle Jesse's instincts as a parent, even though he never been one, kicked in.

"We got win back the Farm. It's our only home." Daisy said.

Luke told them the plan he came up with. "Uncle Jesse and I will go into town and see what we can do there. Bo, you and Daisy stay here. Those guys who bought the farm might be up to no good."

Uncle Jesse and Luke are down town. Luke spots a flyer on a post.

Elroy Ramsden and Frank Winchcombe.

WANTED for Assault and Battery and Accessory.

"Hey, Uncle Jesse look at this." Luke pulls the poster off the telephone pole.

"Looks like our guys have a nasty temper." Jesse said.

"What do you think they were accessory to?"

"Probably a bank robbery." It was most likely.

"Great now we gotta get Boss Hogg out of trouble."

"WE don't have ter do anything but get our farm back. If those guys give us any trouble we'll handle it ourselves." Jesse said.

Bo looks around the Duke Farm property. The two men Elroy and Frank sneak up behind him. Out of reflex Bo turns around and hits one of them. They both charge at Bo.

**_This isn't even a fair fight y'all. _**

Luke goes back to farm. He looks around for Bo.

Luke finds Bo in the barn. He's on the ground unconscious. "Bo." Luke bends down next to him. Bo sits up and comes around.

"You ok cousin?"

"Yeah."

"What happened?" Luke helps Bo up.

"Those guys got a cheap shot in and they took off."

"Let's get after 'em." Luke starts to walk out of the barn.

Bo follows him. "Ah."

"What is it?"

"Luke I think I sprained my ankle."

**_Did ya ever have a day, were one little thing goes wrong then everything else does? Yep, this is one of them._**

"Come on we have to get you off that ankle." Luke puts Bo's arms around him shoulder and they start walking. Bo hops on one foot.

"Where's Daisy?" Luke asked.

"I thought I heard her screamin' earlier. I tried to get to her but those guys jumped me. If they done anything to her I'll….."

"Bo, anger's not gonna do us any good now. Besides there's only two of 'em. They couldn't be at same place at the same time, if you heard her the same time they jumped you."

"Yeah, you're right. I hope she's in the right hands."

**_And she was._**

"Cooter, what was the idea, sneakin' up on me like that?" Daisy asked when they got to his garage**_. _**He doesn't answer because he was receiving a message from the CB.

"Lost Sheep to Crazy Cooter, come in over."

"This Crazy Cooter, I might be crazy but I ain't dumb, over."

"You know those guys that bought our farm? Turns out they're bank robbers. They attacked Bo and got away. But we don't know where Daisy is.….we had the notion….is with you?"

"I'm here. I'm safe." Daisy says.

"Don't scare us like that again." Luke didn't know who he was exactly saying this too.

"I had to get her away from there." Cooter said, especially with those guys pokin' around. I thought she was there alone. I didn't see Bo."

"Keep an eye out on them for us." Luke says to Cooter.

"That's a big ten four. Over." Cooter hangs up the CB. "I knew those guys were up to no good. I tried to reach you guys earlier but I didn't know what channel to reach you on."

"Come on." Daisy said. "We got to help Bo and Luke.

"We're stayin' here and keepin' a look out. " Cooter said. And that was an order.

Bo and Luke drive to the Boars Nest.

**_Luke tried to tell Boss that the guys who bought the farm were robbers. But as usual Boss didn't believe him._**

Boss leaves his office and Luke swipes the contract that's sitting on Boss's desk.

**_At Cooter's garage Cooter and Daisy were keeping an eye out for the thieves. What they didn't know was that they were about to become sitting ducks._**

Elroy and Frank pull up to Cooter's. Cooter goes to refill their gas. He notices them right away. "How y'all doin' folks."

"Just fill her up." Elroy told him. "We're in a hurry.

Cooter motions toward Daisy to come out of the garage.

Frank looks at him oddly.

"Neck cramp." Cooter uses as an excuse.

Daisy tip-toes out of the garage but Elroy spots her.

"Say pretty lady. Have I seen you around somewhere before?" Elroy says to Daisy as she comes over.  
"I don't know maybe I just have one of those faces." Daisy tried to bluff. But it didn't work.

**_Did ya ever wonder why Dukes don't lie, because they can't. They couldn't tell a good lie that could save their lives._**

"I don't think that's it." Elroy said.

"Hey, she was one of those Dukes that used to own that farm." Frank noticed her right away.

Daisy looks at Cooter, unknowing what to do. Suddenly Cooter goes at Elroy and punches him.

Daisy kicks Frank.

Cooter and Daisy hop into Cooter's tow truck and drive off.

Elroy and Frank get in their car and follow.

Rosco is outside the Boars Nest about to go in when Boss rushes out.

"He stole the contract!"

"Who?" Rosco asked.

"Luke Duke."

"What do you want me to do?"

"What you always do. Go into town and chase 'em."

"But, it's rightfully their….."

"Now." He shouts. "Don't take off yet. I'm goin' with ya." He gets into the patrol car with Rosco.

"Buckle up little fat buddy. Kew. Kew." Rosco gives his famous laugh and backs up. He puts the car in drive and drives out of the parking lot.

While Luke and Bo are driving down town they see Cooter being chased by the robbers.

Daisy was in the car with Cooter.

They noticed Cooter and Daisy were being shot at.

"You better step on it Luke." Bo suddenly smiles. "It feels strange sayin' that. You don't know how it's like bein' in the other side."

"I don't want to know what side that is." Luke said.

Rosco turns his patrol car into town. Boss spots the bright orange car.

"There they are." Boss shouts.

They chase after the General.

Bo reaches Cooter on the CB. "Cooter, we're gonna pull right in front of ya.

"Ok, but make sure you give me enough room to stop." Cooter said.

They stop right in front of Cooter. Cooter comes to a stop.

The robber's car skids to a stop and bump into the back of the tow.

"Alright freeze all of ya." Rosco gets out of his patrol car after everyone else gets out of their cars. He points his gun at all of them, the Dukes, the Robbers, Boss, and Cooter who are all next to the General Lee.

"Why you pointing that at me for?" Boss asked his arms in the air. He knew he was a criminal but..

"Sorry Boss it's a habit." Rosco lowered his gun, distracted.

"Ain't nobody gonna freeze but you Sheriff." Elroy had taken a gun out of the inside of his coat pocket. He points it at Rosco.

"Ooh….that's a….that's a big gun. That's bigger than mine. You see…." Rosco points to his own gun. "I guess that really is a pea shooter, ain't it?"

Daisy had to look down at the ground; a big grin was on her face. She had to keep herself from laughing.

"Now toss it over here." Elroy demanded Rosco.

Rosco tossed it.

As Elroy went to pick it up Bo (the closest to him brings up his leg and kicks him.) He had kicked him with his injured leg. He hopped on his good foot, trying to shake the pain off. The kick had been worth it though. The gun flies from Elroy's hand. At the same time Luke dove for Rosco's gun, and grabbed the dropped one. He threw the guns into the watery ditch at the side of road. Frank took out his gun, pointing it at Luke.

Cooter, realizing what was about to happen, punched Frank square in the jaw. His gun falls from his hand and Cooter kicked it into the ditch.

"Now listen up." Luke called. "You're gonna give the keys to our farm back."

"They bought if fair and square, for a considerably low down price." Boss said in a smug tone. There was no way to find their way around this, this time. But Boss always underestimated them. One thing you don't do is underestimate a Duke, what they do next in a situation like this might surprise ye.

"Yeah, that farm is ours." Frank said. Of course they had much bigger plans, robbing the bank and taking over Boss's abandoned still.

Luke was quick to act. He had been thinking of the idea during the chase. It was bound to work. If it didn't work, he knew that his family would have his back. And he tired. But trying wasn't good enough for Luke. He took the contract out of his pocket and handed it to Bo. Luke whispered something into Bo's ear.

"Not acordin' to this you don't." Bo said, having looked it over.

"What's he talkin' about Elroy?" Frank asked.

"You didn't read the fine print." Luke said.

"Fine print?" Elroy asked dumbly.

"Sure." Bo said. "Aren't you familiar with contracts? It says right here…." He puts it under Elroy's nose and points to the last written line.

"Right where?" Boss rushed over, desperate to find a flaw in their plan.

"At the bottom, see? It says the property has to abandoned for at least a year before put on the market."

"So they don't really own the farm?" Daisy didn't have to ask but she did anyway. "The farm's still ours?"

"That's right Daisy" Luke said, taking back the contract. "Nobody owns the farm but us."

Daisy happily jumps for joy and hugs her cousin.

**_So there you have it. The wanted fugitive's were arrested and the Dukes got to keep their farm._**

While the Dukes cousin's and one Davenport all hug each other and chat away happily, Rosco arrests Elroy and Frank.

**_One thing I like about Hazzard is it always seems to have happy endings. I wish it'll stay that way, don't you? _**


	2. DogNapped

The Dukes are in for a real chase. After Flash accidently swallows a mobsters ring, she gets kidnapped eh… dog napped. Bo and Luke come to the rescue. But they get framed for the crime. You don't always know what's gonna show up in Hazzard.

Chapter 2: Dog Napped

**_Put up your Dukes_**_, _

The General Lee is speeding and comes to a stop doing a 130. A police car almost rams into it. **Paws** Flash, in Rosco's patrol car barks. **_or whatever. _**Bo and Luke chase after two guys on foot.

**_The boys get them self in a hot mess._**_ **With a dog** (_two men are chasing Flash.)_, **a stolen ring, an angry mobster, and a sheriff **(_Rosco chases after the Dukes "Freeze." He fires his gun straight up in theair_.)**How do you reckon all this is going to turn out?**_

The Dukes are in for a real chase. After Flash accidently swallows a mobsters ring, she gets kidnapped eh… dog napped. Bo and Luke come to the rescue. But they get framed for the crime. You don't always know what's gonna show up in Hazzard.

Boss Hogg was in his office at the Court House, taking with Mobster, James Carson. He was the nastiest in the State. He played dirty. Boss underestimated him.

"I want you outside in about an hour." Boss told the mobster's two lackeys.

"I tell my men what to do Hogg, not you." Carson said. The mobster and his men leave.

Rosco walks into the court house singing,

_My ol' dog her name is Flash _

_I don't know why because she ain't too fast _

_She runs two steps and runs out of gas. _

_In a one dog race she'd come in last._

He enters Boss's office.

"And so would you." Boss said. "Get that dog outta here. She stinks."

"It's not her fault." He says. "She just has indigestion. Just like you get little fat buddy." Rosco pinches Boss's cheek.

"Not in here, get." Boss shoos him out of the room.

Rosco picked up Flash from the desk and left.

Bo and Luke came into the court house just as Rosco was walking out of Boss's office. It was just the Duke boy's luck. They would usually try to get Enos to take care of their tickets. That way it wouldn't be too much of a hassle.

"What are you Duke boys doin' here?" Rosco asked them.

"We came to discuss those unfair tickets you gave us." Bo said. They did like every other day. Rosco should know that by now. That was their only reason for coming to the courthouse.

"Oh, yeah right. Kee."Rosco said suddenly remembering. He put Flash down, who wandered over to Luke to great him.

Flash waddled over to the dark haired Duke. She liked this one a lot. Not because of his smell. She liked the other one too. They were generally nice.

"Hey Flash." Luke bent down to pet her. "Ooh, Flash what did you eat?"

"It must be indigestion from the new dog food I gave her." Rosco said. Why would he pretend to care?

"I don't think it's just indigestion." Bo looked at the dog. "I think maybe you should take her to a vet." Flash rolls over on her side.

"I'll decide when she goes to the vet. She's my dog." Rosco said.

"Why don't we just pay those tickets and be out of your hair." Luke said, fishing in his back pocket for his wallet. He didn't want to cause any more tension.

Bo and Luke payed the 20 dollar ticket, each, despite Bo's argument. He looked reluctant as he took out his wallet and disappointedly put the money in Rosco's hand.

**_Luke was right, Flash didn't look too good. _**

Outside the mobster's two men are stealing from Boss's armored truck. Now to further worsen their luck, Bo and Luke came across them.

Bo was telling Luke, "I worked two weeks for that twenty doing Uncle Jesse's chores. Now I feel naked."

The mobster's pointed their guns at Bo and Luke. The boys involuntarily put their hands up.

**_I'm gettin' a strange feelin' of Déjà vu._**

"Get in the car." One of the mobsters' said.

**_Ya'd think by now they'd know how to deal with this situation. _**

The other mobster pushed Bo toward the General Lee. "Get goin'

"I'm goin' Don't push." _Rude much_, Bo thought.

Boss stepped out of the courthouse. "The Duke boys! They're gettin' away, with my money." He turns, facing the entrance calling for Rosco. "Rosco!"

Rosco comes out carrying Flash.

"Get after them." Boss demanded Rosco.

The mobsters tell Bo to stop and drop them off.

After they make their getaway they boys swing back to the courthouse.

"I can't go after them." Rosco told Boss. "Somethin's wrong with Flash.

"Stop worrin' about your darn mutt…" Boss was cut off when he heard the General coming around the street corner. "There they are arrest 'em."

Bo and Luke climb out of the General Lee.

"I'm not in the mood to chase 'em right now." Rosco said. "I need to take Flash to the vet. Can you boys drive?

"Sure." Luke was more than obliged to. Uncle Jesse brought them up good.

**_Rosco, letting the Duke boys drive his patrol car? I'm already thinkin' about the things bound to go wrong._**

"We'll deal with them later." Bo decided.

Luke takes Flash from Rosco and puts her in the back of the General.

**_Meanwhile the mobsters, and their mob boss, were at their secret headquarters. Now that they were done framing the Dukes, that didn't mean they weren't quite done yet._**

"The Dukes boss had us frame I got other plans for them." The mob boss said.

"What plans?" One of the mobsters, Ted, asked.

The Mob Boss notices his ring isn't on his finger. "You don't question my plans, as long as this ring is on my finger. My ring. Where's my ring?"

"You had it on Boss's desk, next to the dog..." Conway said.

"The dog! The dog swallowed my ring!

"What about the Dukes?" The young mobster asked.

"Get that dog, before we do anything to those Dukes."

Rosco enters the Boars Nest. He orders a beer and sets the ring down on the counter.

"Wow, look at the rock." Daisy said, eying the ring. "Where'd you get it Rosco?" She takes the ring and puts it on.

"It came out of Flash's other end." Rosco said.

Daisy's eyes widen and she takes off the ring.

Rosco snatched it from her. "That's what ye get for takin' things."

"Y'all I'll be right back." She says to Rosco and her cousins. "I'm gonna go wash my hands."

"I bet that was that mobster's ring." Rosco said. He recalled Boss talking about calling in one of them.

"What mobster?" Bo asked. Had a feeling that maybe the mobster Rosco spoke of had something to do with robbing the bank and that Boss Hogg was behind it. They were going to frame it on him and Luke. _Here it comes._ Bo instantly thought.

_Did I say that out loud?_ Rosco asked himself. He got up from the stool. "Ok, you two are under arrest."

"Now Rosco….." Luke tried to explain. Rosco had seemed to be getting along with them a few seconds ago, or had he not been acknowledging them. Then Bo had to go and open his mouth. However, Luke was now interested to. This piece of evidence could lead them to the mobster so they could give the ring back. Sometimes Rosco opening his mouth was useful.

"You helped rob Boss's armored truck. And you're arrested for accessory." Rosco hand cuffed them together.

"Why you handcuffin' me to him for?" Bo asked. He knew it would end up in an argument between him and his cousin. It would just fuel Rosco's pleasure. The last thing in the world Bo wanted was to be tied to his cousin, he wouldn't have minded if it was Daisy.

"I only got one pair." He led them out to his police car. It would be interesting and entraining to see the two cousins interact. He was sort of thankful that he had forgotten his extra pair at home.

Jesse was called to the station to pay bail for the boys. They had ended up in jail again for Lord knows what this time. Rosco had been the one that called him. As far as Jesse was concerned he wouldn't pay Rosco one red cent. That money would go to J.D. anyways. But he didn't want to give Rosco the satisfaction. After all that Rosco did to his family Jesse didn't want anything to do with Rosco. He always got on Jesse's nerves, from his stubbornness and lack of using his brain. He knew the Sheriff had a brain in there but he was letting others use it for him. The old Rosco wouldn't but that Rosco was dead, had died long ago, along with Jesse's brother. Or had that part of him die slowly after he lost his pension? That Rosco was long gone. And a man named J.D. Hogg had killed him. J.D. had taken advantage of Rosco after he lost his pension. The Rosco Jesse knew didn't let nothing get in the way of his good conscience. He wouldn't take anything from nobody, especially if that person was crooked.

The Rosco now was merely a shadow of the man he once was. Jesse couldn't help but take pity on him once in awhile. Since Boss Hogg influence on Rosco, Jesse didn't like what took over. That's why he annoyed Rosco he supposed. It wasn't the way he treated his boys. It wasn't that personal. "Rosco, why do you have my boys behind bars this time?" Jesse asked him.

"They were arrested for assistin' armed robbery." Rosco said. He knew it wasn't true and they hadn't done it.

"We were forced to get them out of there. They held guns on us." Luke said. His words were useless. Rosco wouldn't listen. He never listened to a Duke. Why had he thought his words would make a difference this time?

"It's not like we had much of a choice." _What was the use anyway_, Bo thought. Rosco wouldn't listen to them. He always felt Rosco had it out for him in particular.

Enos entered the police station, ready to start his shift. He half expected to see the boys in the jail cell. "How's your ankle Bo?"

"It healed up just fine, Enos." Bo answered. The incident had happened a week ago. He was able to drive and do every normal day things. Within a few days he was able to use it. He thought he had sprained it but he had pulled a muscle.

"Enos." Rosco said, walking over to him. "No talkin to the prisoners. Even if they are family, get.' He turned to Jesse. "You too before I start filin' charges."

"Just to let you know, I'll be coming back later." Jesse told Rosco as he and Enos left.

"Rosco you know we ain't done nothin' wrong." Luke said. There had to be a conscience in him somewhere. He wasn't as crooked as Boss was. Maybe he didn't know that Boss had the mobsters rob the bank. "Those guys that robbed the armored truck, Boss probably set it up."

"Yeah, no doubt." His cousin said. He wouldn't put it past Boss.

"Will you hush?" Rosco said to Luke. "I'm tryin' to think."

"With what?" Luke said.

Ted and Conway, pull up outside the Sheriff's department.

"We can't get the dog here. Someone will notice."Conway said.

When Rosco leaves in his Patrol car, the mobsters follow. After driving a little ways, smoke emitted from the hood of Rosco's patrol car. He bet it was the carbonator. He stopped at the old watering hole so he could fix the carbonator with water. He went over to his trunk.

"Once the Sheriff leaves the dog, we'll nab him." Conway told Ted. They were watching in their car from a distance.

"The Sheriff?" Ted asked confused.

"No, the dog, Jackass." Conway was getting frustrated.

Taking the bucket from the trunk Rosco went to swimming hole to fill it up. Flash climbed out of the patrol car to go and find a place to relive herself.

"Now's our cue." Conway said after he saw the Sheriff come back. "I'll sneak up behind him, you grab the dog."

Conway sneaks up behind Rosco. Flash gave out a few warning barks but for some reason her master wasn't listening. She didn't know that she was the one that was actually in danger. She was just going on instinct, like a dog naturally does.

"Flash. Hush." Rosco said to the dog. She was probably thirsty and thought the water was intended for her. He'd give her some of it before he tended to the car.

Conway grabbed the bucket and put it over Rosco's head, the water pouring over his head and all over his Sheriff's uniform.

Ted grabbed Flash. The dog barked and gave out a whimper as she was picked up. She was starting to have back problems at her age. And she had to be picked up a certain way. Her capture didn't know that. He tried to pick her up as gently as he could. Ted had a heart for animals and people. Makes you wonder what the kid was doing in this kind of business in the first place.

**_Does everyone have it out for that dog?_**

Rosco finally got the bucket off his head just in time to see Ted pick up Flash.

Conway and Ted get in their car and drive off.

"Rosco, what happened to you?" Bo asked as Rosco entered sheriff's department. Rosco was completely drenched. It was sort of comical. He was reminded of one of those times he and Luke accidently ran him into the pond while he was chasing them. The look on the Sheriff's face told him otherwise.

Enos, who was reading one of his comic books, looked up.

"I was out by the watering hole. They took Flash."

"Your talkin' about those mobster guys" Bo said, "the ones who robbed the armored truck?"

"Has to be." Luke said. "They must've figured out Flash swallowed the ring by now."

"Enos but out an ABP…" Bo started to say but he was interrupted by Rosco.

"What use is it now?" He headed to his office. He missed Flash already. His dog was there for him when people let him down. Ever since he got Flash he had someone to care for. She kept him company. But he was still lonely. Something was still missing. He needed someone to care for him. He was fifty-three, too old to have family of his own. No matter how Rosco treated her like family the dog couldn't fill the gap in his heart he was feeling. With her gone he was reminded of everything and everyone he'd loved and lost. That was what truly upset him, not just his dog being taken away from him.

He needed to be alone for awhile to think things through.

Bo turned to Enos. "You got to help us Enos. We'll go lookin' for those guys and bring Flash back ourselves."

"Yeah, Rosco isn't in a right old state." Luke said. Though he got on their nerves, he and Bo cared about him.

Enos agreed. "Ok, I'll do it because you're family and he's my friend." He grabbed the keys and unlocks the cell. They boys immediately head to Rosco's office.

"Rosco, listen if you get in contact with those Mob guys, you can tell 'em you have the ring." Luke told him.

"You'll give 'em the ring back and they'll give you Flash back." Bo said.

"I can't." Rosco said. He had misplaced the ring, just Coltrane luck. He might have lost his only chance to get Flash back. The old him wouldn't have given up. He felt defeated. That he was useless. He could get the boys to help find the ring and get Flash back. But he didn't want to sound too desperate. Asking for others help was the last thing he would do, especially a Duke. At least that old part of him had remained his stubbornness. Perhaps that was the only grip he had on reality.

"What do you mean you can't?" Luke asked. He hoped against hoped that he wasn't giving up.

"I don't have it."

Luke was slightly relived at the Sheriff's statement. On the other hand, they had a ring to find. It was their only chance. He prayed they didn't have a deadline.

"If you don't have it, who does?" Bo asked. It was going to a challenge to ask Rosco to remember where he last seen it.

* * *

Boss was sitting at the table in Boars Nest back room. A tray piled up with food in front on him. He put out his hand to examine the ring. He laughed. He could easily sell it for a thousand.

**_It kind of looks good on his chubby little finger don't it?_**

"This must cost a fortune." He says.

Rosco burst into the room. "Alright, I know you have it."

"Have what?" Boss tried to act like he didn't know what he was talking about.

"Give me that ring off your grubby little finger."

"I found it. It's mine." Boss tired to hide his hand under the table. Before he could Rosco charges over to him and grabs Boss's hand.

Rosco tried to get the ring off Boss's finger, but it wouldn't budge. "Ok, now, let go of it."

"I'm not holdin' on to it. It's stuck."

Rosco dragged him to the bathroom, turning on the sink faucet.

"You let go of me this instant." Boss demanded.

Rosco didn't. "Flash's life depends on it."

* * *

Rosco was in his patrol car. Hoping the Dukes were right, that the mobsters would want an exchange.

"Calling Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane. Are you there Sheriff?" Conway called into his CB.

"Yes, I'm here." Rosco said. " And I've got your Boss's ring. You're to give me Flash in exchange for the ring. If you've harmed any flea or hair or her head…"

"We didn't hurt your dog Sheriff." Ted said. He was saying it with a friendly voice.

"Meet us at Old Ridge Road. You're to come alone." The unfriendly one said.

"I will. Just don't hurt Flash."

"But if you break our deal, it's lights out for you and your dog."

"Ah, gee, we're not gonna kill the Sheriff are we….?" Ted said.

Conway hung up the CB. "What are you? A chicken? We're not going to kill the Sheriff as long as he does what we say."

Unknownst to Rosco Bo and Luke were following him in the General.

Ted and Conway were waiting for him.

Rosco gives the ring. Ted sets Flash down.

Flash comes over to Rosco. "Ooh, Flash come to daddy." He picks her up. Flash starts liking his face. "I missed you too."

"Now your dogs alright, put her down and come with us." Conway demanded.

"He did what we said…" Ted questioned Conway's actions.

"He's here with someone else."

Conway took out a gun. He heard rustling in the bushes. "Come on out, show's over."

An arrow came whizzing past Conway's gun arm, making him drop it.

Bo and Luke chase after Ted and Conway. Rosco sets Flash in his patrol car and takes off after them.

"Freeze." He shoots his gun up into the air.

"You got to be kiddin' me." Bo said stopping, looking back. Luke stopped to. Wait a minute…

"Bo when did we ever "Freeze" when Rosco tells us too?"

They keep on running after the mobsters. They stop on a gravel road haven lost them.

Rosco stepped out onto the road behind the boys. "I know you're working for them."

"Rosco Boss set us up." Luke said.

"You expect me to believe that flim-flam?

"Luke I don't think he knows what Boss is up to." Bo said .

"Can you think of a time Boss Hogg wasn't trying to frame us?" Luke asked Rosco.

Rosco thinks, trying to count on his fingers. "There was one….no…I can't think of any…"

"Well, let's go." Luke said.

They all go back to their cars; after they saw the mobsters go back to their car. Luke comes on the CB.

"Rosco we'll help ya cut 'em off at Old Mill Road.

"I don't need your help. I was supposed to come alone. You coulda got me killed."

"It was a risk we were willing to take. They coulda swept you under the rug even if they said they wouldn't try an' kill ya."

"Get a hold on Enos will ye?" Bo asked Luke.

"I'll do it. " Rosco said. "Deputy Dog, this is Red Dog, come in over."

"What's your 20?" Enos responded.

"We have two robbers comin' up on Old Mill Road. We're in hot pursuit."

"I'm headed up that way, over." Enos turned onto the road in seconds.

The mobster's car crashed into Enos's patrol car.

The General does a 130 and comes to a stop. Rosco's patrol car skids to a stop but runs into the General.

As Rosco got out of his car, Ted and Conway were duking it out with the boys.

Luke was having a little trouble with Conway but he eventually got the upper hand.

Bo punched Ted sending him sprawling over the hood. He was the easiest. It only took one punch.

"Help me cuff 'em and stuff 'em." Rosco says to Enos as he steps over to Conway and handcuffs him. "I don't trust this one."

Enos handcuffs the other one.

Rosco puts Conway in the back of his patrol car, and Enos puts Ted in the back of his.

**_Well, looks like it's another end of a dog day afternoon. _**

Flash, who was sitting in the front seat of the patrol car, let out a howl. She was glad to be back where she belonged.

**_I think Flash agrees with me._**

AN:I admit not my best chapter, but hang in there. The other storylines have more detail. This was an earlier story. I don't know how to fix it, so I did the best I could.


	3. The Curious Case of Rosco P Coltrane

Chapter 3: The Curious Case of Rosco P. Coltrane

Disclaimer: I do not own The Dukes of Hazzard or the characters. Characters and trademarks all belong to their respectful owners except for my own. Any characters bearing names of real people are coincidental.

The Dukes, Boss and everyone in Hazzard start to wonder where Rosco's been all day. Bo and Luke get Cooter to spy on Rosco. Meanwhile an ex-con plans to rob the Hazzard Bank. And it all started with a woman in trouble.

_**Tonight on the Dukes, **_

Bo and Luke are in the General. Two men try to run them off the road.

"Hold on tight. " Bo says to Luke as he speeds up.

A man points a gun at Rosco. They are in the Sheriff's department as The Duke boys and a woman watch helplessly. "Hold it, nice and easy Sheriff."

Bo rams the General into the side of the other car. The other car rams him back. The road up ahead ends and Bo turns the wheel sharply to the right.

At the Sheriff's department, Rosco steps forward. "Now just you…" The man fires the gun straight up at the ceiling. Rosco throws his arms over his head as plaster rains down.

_**Looks like the Dukes aren't the only ones in trouble.**_

Rosco was sitting in his patrol car outside one of his favorite speed traps. Just when he thought his day couldn't get any more boring, a blue 1967 firebird suddenly speed past. Rosco turned on his siren and took off after it, thrilled to make a catch of the day.

_**I smell something fishy, and it isn't Rosco's lunch 'cause he don't like fish. Well he only likes to fish out of pure sport and to him so was this. **_

_**Believe it or not Rosco loved giving outsiders tickets as much as the Dukes. **_

Maryanne knew she was driving fast, but she had someplace to be. Suddenly one of the tires blows out and the Firebird screeched to a halt. It startled her five year old daughter, who had fallen asleep in the backseat, woke up. The child seemed a little weary, but at the same time was alert.

"We just blew a tire, that's all Sandy May." Maryanne said. She looked back in her rear view and sees Rosco pull up. "Just what I need." She didn't take her eyes off the rear view, even when the policeman stepped out of the car and made his way toward her.

"You were speedin' in a school zone." The officer said. He looked about to be in his late fourtie's to early fifties's.

"I don't see any school…" The woman began, but the officer already had out his ticket book.

""You're gonna have to pay a twenty dollar fine." He wasn't really paying attention to the woman. All he cared about was issuing the ticket. Then he'd go catch bigger game, the Duke boys.

"Is my mama in trouble?" Sandy May asked. When a policeman talked to you, you were usually in trouble. She knew she wasn't supposed to talk to stranger but he was a policeman. He helped people and put bad people in jail. Her mommy wasn't a bad person. Sure she talked funny but that didn't make her bad either.

"Well, aren't you cute? Kew. Kew." He looked at the woman with a serious face. "I'll tell ye what I'll do instead, I'll call Cooter and he'll have you towed. I'll need a name so he'll know who to bill it too." Rosco finally looked at the woman. She was beautiful from what he could tell. Sunglasses covered the rest of her face.

"I'm Maryanne Beckett." The young woman said. "This is my daughter, Sandy May."

Rosco takes of his hat. "Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane." He found himself flattered by her. It was her accent that caught his full attention. He hadn't noticed it at first, caught up in writing the ticket. Her accent wasn't American. He tried to place where he'd heard an accent like that. Gaylord Duke, the Dukes third cousin that had visited five years ago. But he ended up being an imposter.

"Thanks Sheriff" Maryanne said, "for offerin' to call a tow truck, and me bein' new around here and all." Course she'd pull on the flattery. She sensed he was trying to do the same. She immediately knew he was different than anyone else she had meant. She liked Americans and how they spoke. She wasn't an official American born citizen. She had moved to America with her mother when she was four. Somehow she had kept her accent and that was a miracle. She was proud of her heritage.

"Call me Rosco." Rosco said cheerfully, smiling.

Maryanne looked down the road, a black sedan had pulled up alongside the road, far ahead. The driver concealed it partially in the bushes. She was grateful that the Sheriff hadn't seen it. He was too busily distracted by her."Say Sheriff….Rosco, do you mind givin' us a ride into town?"

"Are ye kiddin? I wouldn't leave a pretty defenseless lady like you out here in the middle of nowhere all by herself."

Maryanne smiled. She wasn't a least bit defenseless. But she liked being treated like a lady for once in a long time. So there was no school around here then. It was all a set up. That was real clever. She liked that. Something in him suddenly sparked her interest. But she had to make sure he could be trusted. She didn't want to be left alone with the black sedan, her daughter could be in danger. Normally she wouldn't trust cops because of what she and her ex-husband did for a living. She was trying to quit the life, honestly. She was tired of the lies. He loved his job more than her. That's why she left him. She wanted someone who acccepted her for her along with her daughter. If her feelings were correct, she could trust this man. It was her choice to try to get the Sheriff to get her and her daughter into town. There they would be safe until she figured out her next move.

"Especially with a 'young'un?" Maryanne said. She was testing his liability. She wondered if he was a father.

The Sheriff nodded. He seemed a little nervous. Maryanne couldn't help but smile again.

"I never rode in a police car before." The five year old said excitedly, getting out of the car.

"Now, don't you make a habit of it." Rosco laughed.

The five year old ran to the police car and got into the back seat. Maryanne went to passenger side.

"Now, it wouldn't be right for a lady like me to sit in the back of a police car would it?" She didn't want to sit in the back. She'd been in the back of a police car once too many. She got into the front seat. The drive was silent except for a few times a brief sound of static from the CB came through. They made her jump every time. She tried not to draw attention to herself. But the Sheriff, Rosco, kept glancing her way every ten seconds.

"It's not that sunny out to be wearin' sunglasses." He finally spoke.

"I'm incognito." She said truthfully. The Sheriff gave her look that told her he was confused. He was probably wonderin' why a woman like her would have to go into hidin' She looked at the road then back at him. He was kinda cute. "I have very sensitive eyes." She lied.

Boss called Enos on the CB. He was looking for Rosco so he could talk to him about his newest scheme.

"Enos, have you seen Rosco?"

"No, Boss. I haven't seen him since this morning.'

"Well when you hear from him, tell him to get over to the Boars' Nest pronto."

"Will do Boss." Enos hung up his CB.

_**While Enos set out to the speed trap Rosco said he was going to be all afternoon, the Dukes started wonderin' where Rosco was. **_

"Rosco hasn't been cashin' us all day." Luke said.

_**Luke and Bo worried that Rosco might be planin' to come up with a way to frame them asked Cooter to spy on Rosco**_.

They stopped by Cooter's. Bo was leanin' over the hood of the covered firebird. Cooter was about to get to work on it when the boys showed up.

"I know it's wrong, but it'd do anything for you Dukes." Cooter said. Cooter tailed Rosco the rest of the afternoon.

Rosco went over to the passenger side of the patrol car and opened the door for her. When Maryanne had gotten out of the patrol car, she took off her sunglasses. They made direct eye contact. Her eyes were green.

"I'd like te show ye around it you'd like." He offered.

"That's mighty kind of you, Sheriff." She looked into his blue eyes. His eyes held lots of youth and excitement, despite his age. She could tell that he liked her. He smiled. She smiled back, his smile was contagious.

They took a short walk, Sandy May close behind. They stopped by his house so he could change his clothes. He didn't have to change out of uniform. But now that he was wearing regular clothes she felt more comfortable.

Cooter saw Rosco walking with a young blond woman. She had to be the young woman that owned the blue firebird he had towed earlier. Where he had found the car, it had been near one of Rosco's speed traps. Did he give her a ticket for a false charge? No. She was actin' friendly with him. And Rosco was talkin' to her like he was talkin' to an old friend. What was even stranger, he wasn't wearing his uniform.

"They'll never believe this." He wouldn't've believed it if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes.

It didn't seem right, seeing Rosco all spiffed up. He was used to seeing him in his Sheriff's uniform all the time.

He's with that new bird that just came into town." Cooter said to the boys. They were outside his garage.

"We haven't met her yet." Luke said. "We were down at the pond fishin' all day. Then someone decided to go skinny' dippin.' He looks at Bo accusingly. They had gone down to the fishin' hole while Cooter was spying on Rosco.

"You decided…." Bo began to argue as they all walked into the garage. What Bo saw made him forget all about what he was going to say. "Wheew look at those wheels." Bo said, admiring a firebird.

"Got a GT engine." Cooter said, wiping off one of his tools with a cloth. "She must be rich to afford one of them."

"Or it's stolen." Bo teased.

"I don't think you have to worry about Rosco for now." Cooter said.

Rosco took Maryanne out to Dinner at the Boars Nest. It was rather nice of him. Earlier they had stopped by his house so he could change his clothes.

He didn't have to change out of uniform. But now that he was wearing regular clothes she felt more comfortable. He was much too older than her, looked like he could 50 or older, with all those grey streaks in his hair. He wasn't too shabby in the looks department. But he was tall and had the most beautiful blue eyes. (They were proof that the eyes were windows to the soul.) She was fascinated, she wasn't about to admit too much interest. She always had problems with men, thanks for her father leaving.

Jesse sat a few tables away from where Maryanne and Rosco sat. Bo walked over to Uncle Jesse.

"Well I'll be looks like Rosco's got a lady friend." Jesse said, spotting Rosco and Maryanne sitting at a table.

"Isn't she a bit too young, Uncle Jesse?" Bo asked. She looked way too young, and beautiful.

"Bah. Ain't no such thing as long as they're happy." Uncle Jesse said waving Bo's comment away. He picked up his mug and took a sip.

Daisy went over to serve Maryanne and Rosco. She was anxious to before anybody else did.

A new visitor to Hazzard was entertainment. Cooter told her that a young woman's car broke down by one of Rosco's speed traps. She hoped he hadn't gone too hard on her. But by the looks of it they were having a polite conversation. The young woman, nodded at smiled as Rosco spoke to her. Rosco you ol' softy. Daisy thought. She wondered why when she shucked and jived him, to provide the boys an escape, it never worked. Somehow this woman managed to not get suckered into a ticket. She must have done something right. It was a wonderment why a pretty girl like that was talkin' with Rosco. Daisy decided she had to meet her. "I'll be serving you this evenin'" Daisy said. "I haven't seen you around here before." She said to the blond woman.

"I'm Maryanne." The woman said.

"You're new around here?" It was something to strike up conversation.

"I'm a city girl. I guess it's that obvious huh?" Maryanne said. The woman's accent was English. She remembered her cousin Gaylord correcting her, or rather the imposter that possed as her cousin.

"What brings you to Hazzard?" Daisy asked. She tried not to be too intruding, aking if she'd recently come to America.

Maryanne pause before answering. She was pondering whether she should tell her or not. But she felt like she could trust her. "I came here to get out of the city. Sort of ran away I guess. I like the country better. In fact I'd choose the country over the city. You're all so nice here."

"What city are you from?"

"Baneberry."

"You certainly came along way." If she meant Tennessee that was what Daisy was thinking.

"I needed a long distance." That was the truth. She needed to get a long distance, away from Ray. He followed her here, because they chose this town on a whim. They chose the place by randomly picking a town on the map and then robbed the bank. She didn't assist him. She'd just sit in the car with Ray's partners. To them she was considered as a mistress of disguise because she always dressed for occupations, and dawned wigs when they were coning people. It was a way to insure her identity remained hidden. "My family and I moved to America when I was four. My mum's American."

"How old are you?" Daisy wondered if she had family looking for her.

"Daisy, it's not polite to ask a woman her age." Rosco said. He would have guessed she was in her late twenties.

"It's alright, Rosco." She looked at him. "I don't mind, if you don't, me talki' to this nice lady."

Rosco looked down at the table and shook his head. "Oh, no."

"Thirty-five." She said to Daisy. She added six years to her age. She didn't want them knowing the whole truth about herself. It would come back to get her if they found out who she really was. And she was risking everything hanging around the Sheriff. But she felt safe around him, and, strangely the waitress. She felt like a friend. Maybe that's what it was like with country folks. Everyone knew everybody and they was all friends.

"You look younger than that." Daisy said. The blond woman looked about in her twenties, around the same age as her at least.

"I get that all the time." Maryanne said which was the half truth. She had always looked younger than her actual age.

Sandy May comes out of the restroom and comes over to their table.

"This is my daughter Sandra." Maryanne introduces her.

"Everyone calls me Sandy May." The little girl said politely.

"Well, don't you have the politest manners?"

"She must get that from her mother." Rosco said.

Maryanne blushed.

"I'm Daisy." The waitress said.

"You're names like a flower." Sandy May giggled. She wasn't making fun of Daisy's name. She just never heard of a person having a name of a flower.

"That's right."

Maryanne looked at her daughter. "Don't pester her none Sandy May." She thought she was making fun of Daisy's name. It was a beautiful name.

"It don't bother me none." Daisy said. She liked children. "My mother named me after her favorite flower." She was eye level with the little girl now.

Maryanne glanced at Rosco. He was acting odd. He had his hat on the table; his hand placed on it, and he was looking everywhere else.

Daisy fished out a coloring book and a jar of crayons from behind the counter. She set them at a booth for the little girl. Sandy May climbed into the booth and started working on the book.

"Stay where I can see you alright?"

Daisy was now back behind the bar when Luke walked in.

"What's the name of that girl that Rosco's with?" Luke asked Daisy.

"Maryanne. She's real nice. You should meet her."

"I think I'll pass."

"Is someone jealous?" Daisy thought she sense a hint of jealousy radiating off her cousin.

"No. I'm just concerned about Rosco is all. You know what happened last time." Luke started to recall.

_**Y'all remember Sue Anne? In case you all forgot, she was the woman who had tried to marry Rosco while her real husband robbed the bank. And that was what Luke was rememberin.' But it somehow felt like an excuse to him. I think Luke's jealous; he just wasn't going to admit that he was in fact jealous. **_

After dinner Rosco took Maryanne and Sandy May beck into town. They went for a little walk after words. Sandy May stayed ahead of them. She walked up on the curb and pretended she was on a balance beam.

"Rosco, is there somethin' between you and Daisy?" Maryanne asked him.

"What do you mean?"

"You acted like you didn't want me to talk to her. And when she mentioned her being named after her mother's favorite flower...you looked like you wanted to be somewhere else."

"It's just getting close to somethin' I don't want to remember."

She wanted to ask, "Did someone die?" But she decided not to pry. It wasn't her place. After all he didn't know her and she didn't know him. She didn't want to risk sayin' the wrong thing and end up loosin' the only friend she had in Hazzard so far.

She had one of those days, like the day she got married to Ray. That was one of the days she defiantly wanted to forget. She got strange around that day too. Certain things would set her off.

Luke was driving the General Lee down Snake Nation Road.

A black sedan was heading in their direction.

"Luke, look out." Bo warned Luke.

Luke swerved to avoid the sedan.

_**Now there's somethin' you see every day. An out of towner drivin' on the wrong side of the road, often means they're usually up to no good. And where there's no good, Bo and Luke somehow find themselves right in the middle of it. **_

The General's hood was bent. Smoke was admitting from it. Luke had gone off the road and hit a tree.

"Now look what ye did." Bo said.

"That car almost ran me off the road." Bo and Luke started to argue.

"And if I'd been drivin' I woulda been able to avoid hittin' a tree tryin' to avoid them."

Luke sighed, picking up the CB. "We're gonna have to call Cooter."

Cooter picked up his CB after getting a message from Luke.

"I'm fixin' a car right now. It belongs to that one girl I've been tellin' ye's about."

"Some guys tried to run us off the road." Luke said.

"Hey, what's new?" Cooter said jokingly.

"Could you hurry up? They might be back. That girl can't be more important than us right now."

"There's one thing about her though." Cooter said.

"What's that?"

"She sure has quite the luggage for just one person."

"Did you look through them?"

"Nah? I'd feel wrong goin' through a woman's property."

"Could you just do it, for Rosco's sake?"

"Now, Luke you just asked me to spy on the man….."

"Just this is all I'm asking, just two more favors?"

"Alright." He opens the luggage that was in the back seat. "Just clothes, that's all."

"That's all?"

"Well not quite, some of them are men's clothing."

_**Uh oh, looks like Maryanne didn't plan a trip just for two. **_

After they went their spate ways, she went to the hotel. She told Sandy May to stay in the room while she walked over to Cooter's garage to pick up her car.

She wanted out of her husband's life. But she didn't know how to tell him. Being a scam artist for a living, and married to one was as dangerous as being a mobster. She had recently divorced her husband and has been on the run. The city was too big for her. The country was out in the middle of nowhere. She'd lost the feeling of being lost in the crowd. In the country you could be anybody without really trying. She loved the country. Hazzard seemed a nice place to start over. She'd already met some nice people here. And if they were really nice they would forgive her of her past crimes. When Rosco found out the truth about her, she would probably get arrested. Just thinking about him made her stomach do flips. It wasn't a bad feeling. What had she dragged him into? He was a nice man. He didn't deserve being lied to. She just didn't want him getting caught up in her past. Lying was the only way to cover her tracks.

She used the pay phone outside the Hazzard Garage.

"We thought out a plan to get the money." Her ex-husband said. "Are you in?" If he was hoping for her to come back to him, he was dreaming.

"I'm not comin' back to you Ray. You and I are through. And if you come near me or my daughter I'll have the Hazzard County Police on you, even the F.B.I." She slammed the phone down.

Cooter had heard the commotion. He came out of the garage just as he saw the owner of the firebird slam down the pay phone.

As she slammed down the phone she turned to the mechanic. He was about in his thirties. He must be Cooter. Maryanne thought to herself.

"Anything wrong?" The mechanic asked.

"No, not at all Cooter."

"How'd you know my name?"

"Rosco was tellin' me about you, when he picked me up after the accident. He said you were the best mechanic."

"The one and the only, Cooter Davenport.'

"Your name really is Cooter?"

"That's another story for another time. Mind me asking who you were talkin' to on the phone? It sounded serious."

"Just my brother. I sorta ran away from home. I couldn't stand it any longer in the city."

"Your car's ready." He pointed to the garage. She followed him inside.

"How much?"

"30 dollars for the tire, and 30 for the tow."

She reached into her purse, trying not to let Cooter see how much money was in there. Some of it was fake. She had to be careful.

_**Now do you wonder were a pretty lady like that got all that money? Most of its probably stolen or counterfeited. **_

"Sixty even." She gave him the money without looking at him. She was keeping an eye out outside.

The black sedan went by the garage.

"Can I leave it here for a bit longer? I don't have a place of my own yet…I just need to grab some luggage. Here's an extra twenty…."

"Don't worry about that. I gotta another call. Bo and Luke need a tow, can't leave them stranded."

"Well here's that twenty and a ten." She grabbed a ten from her purse.

"Well that's mighty generous of you."

"Got to get used to it myself if I'm planin' on stayin. 'She said to him. He nodded to her lifting his hat a bit. He walked to his tow truck. " Bye Cooter. Nice meetin' ye." She said as he drove away in his tow.

She went into the garage and grabbed two luggage's'. That would have to do for now. She pulled the garage door shut, making sure no one was looking.

She walked down by the courthouse where she saw Rosco.

"I was just at Cooter's. My car's not fixed yet. He's got another call."

"Let me help you with those."

"No really, it's just two luggages." Maryanne was cautious. She didn't know if one of them had her husband's clothes in them or not. Ex-husband, she had to get used to that.

"Where are you stayin'?"

"The Hazzard Hotel." She had left Sandy May there, in care of one of the housekeepers.

"The Hazzard Ho….you can stay at me and my ma's place. She won't mind."

He still lived with his mother. He really did need a woman. Lucky she was around.

They stopped outside a nice fancy house. It read Hogg on the mailbox.

"This is my brother in laws place. Just wait out here." He told her.

He came out a few seconds later. They both went inside.

"Oh, my brother's finally found a woman." Lulu said gladly.

"Hush now Lulu…." Rosco said nervously.

"Oh I'm not his…." She tried to clear the confusion. He was 40 and she was 29. That was 11 years age difference. He was kinda cute though, and nice. But she felt he was sad all the time and pretended to be happy. If she stayed she planned on making him happy for real.

"I feel like you're part of the family already." Rosco's sister said.

_**I have a feelin' Maryanne did too. That's what it's like in Hazzard. Everyone feels like family. Even if you're not from Hazzard. **_

"She needs a place to stay." Rosco says.

"You're welcome with us."Lulu said. "You can stay in the spare bedroom."

Boss comes down the staires. "What is all this hubup, I was finally getting into my me time."

"Oh hush J.D." Lulu said waving a hand at him.

"Do you have a place Sandy May can sleep?" Maryanne asked Lulu.

"She's your dog?"

"She's my daughter."

"You have a daughter?" Rosco didn't tell her his lady friend had a daughter.

"That's why I have two luggages." She pats one of them. "She's five in a half. She'll be six next spring."

"She needs a place to stay." Rosco says.

"I know I recognize your accent." Lulu pointed out.

"British. Remember Gaylord Duke?" Boss got an unpleastant recall of the memory.

"The correct word is English." Maryanne corrected. "I'm English." She didn't mean for it to sound rushed.

"That's lovely." Lulu was always watching those English shows on the television that came on every Saturday night.

"But I moved to America when I was a little girl." Maryanne added. She didn't want to sound like she was an illegal immigrant. If they asked. She felt all eyes on her. "My dad always said, "it's a miracle you kept that accent," he says." The reason why she kept her accent was because her older brother would always visit. He lived with dad when he abandoned her and her mother. And when her brother was in America, and when her mother would go on long business trips he would look after her. And her accent stuck. When she got older and her brother hardly visited she still kept it. She supposed it was because she was proud of it.

"Well, we're happy to have you here." Lulu gave a glance at J.D. who had a look of disapproval on his face. "Would you like to stay for dinner?" Lulu asked, heading for the kitchen. "I would like to. " Maryanne said, she set her luggage down and followed Lulu into the kitchen.

"J.D. take the suitcases up to the spare bedroom." Lulu called.

"I'd even help but I got to pick up Sandy May. I left her with the cleaning lady. I didn't know who else to watch over her. With my husband being dead an' all."

"Oh, you pour thing."

"Don't hurt much, when you didn't really love the person…still it gets to you sometimes" She had married too young, before she even realized she didn't even love Ray at all. He was dead to her now.

"Take those luggage's upstairs." Boss told Rosco.

"She told you….

Lulu comes out of the kitchen. She explained where Maryanne went off to. "She's just what my baby brother needs."

"She's a little angel muffin." Rosco smiled.

"I don't like her." Boss said.

"J.D. you don't like anybody." Lulu said.

Maryanne lay in bed unable to sleep. Her first day in Hazzard, and Rosco came on her mind. There was something about Rosco that she couldn't explain. She felt drawn to him as if being pulled by a powerful force or a mindless moth being drawn to a flame. He was so different, so mature, and mysterious. He acted childish when around other people. Didn't people know his childish behavior was used to hide something? It was like how guys used their tough guy act to hide their inner most feelings. But he was nothing like other guys.

They were interested in partying and getting the girls. He was interested in….she didn't know what he was interested in. She didn't know him at all. But she felt comfortable around him. She couldn't explain how she felt. She'd been fed up with Ray and his recklessness. At least Rosco seemed to know what he wanted. He had a job, a real job, stopping criminals like Ray.

He tried getting comfy on the couch but there was not enough room for him to stretch out on. He sat up, pushed away the cotton blanket Lulu had given him. As he sat there his mind started to wonder. He didn't believe that Maryanne was interested in him. But by the way she stared so intensely into his eyes, the way she studied him taking in everything he said, the way she kept touching his arm when she talked to him, those were the signs she was interest in him, right? He was a little rusty. She was young. He was no good for her. He couldn't describe the way she made him feel, or what he was feeling. Maybe taking a walk would help set him mind straight. Before he could decide he heard the creek of the staires. Whoever it was they were trying not to be heard.

"Rosco." A voice whispered. He loved it when she said his name. "Are you awake?"

"Maryanne." He got up from the couch as she walked over to him. He could see her clearly now, by the moon light shining through the window. She wore a long stripped night gown. He was still in his clothes. He was probably embarrassing her. But then why was he the one feeling embarrassed.

"I can't sleep." She said. He was glad she spoke first. "I guess I'm just overtired."

"Maybe it's the heat." He said.

"Sometimes I can't sleep in strange houses." She said in a little girl voice. To him that was how he was supposed to think of her. She was just a girl compared to him. He was old enough to be her father.

Part of him wanted this to be a dream but another part of him didn't.

She sounded like a frightened child, scared of the dark. But he didn't believe that she was frightened. She didn't seem the type to be afraid of anything.

She was starting to feel afraid of her feelings. She was going to go take a walk but she saw that Rosco was awake. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw him. Could she really be that close to another man again? She just wanted all this to go away. She would just break his heart if he found out the truth about her. She had been thinking of leaving with Sandy May before dawn. But seeing him standing there made her rethink things. She was too much involved with him now to leave, that would only draw suspicion toward her. No matter how much she thought she needed to, she couldn't run away from these strong feelings she felt.

She stepped closer to him. He didn't know what made him do it, but he put her hands on her shoulders. To his surprise she didn't pull away from her or resist. Her lips were on his. As soon as she kissed him, she felt that she was where she belonged. Her mind was made up. The reason she was going to stay in Hazzard, a new life. And he was going to be part of her new life.

Lulu had woken up to the sound of someone walking down the staires. She thought it was J.D. trying to sneak down to the kitchen for a midnight snack. He was always doing that. She stepped out into the hall. The light in the bathroom was on. It was probably Maryanne. She stopped on the top of the staires when she saw her brother and Maryanne. She was shocked at first, and then she smiled, happy for her brother. She went back to her bedroom.

Maryanne pulled away. She fixed a strand of his graying hair, sticking out. She put her hands on her shoulders, taking in his features, his expression, patting his chest. She turned to go back up the staires, leaving him standing there. That would make him think on it.

* * *

_**The next day Rosco and Maryanne met up at the Boar's Nest during Rosco's lunch break. They was fighting like they was a couple already.**_

_**Rosco told her about the Dukes and what trouble they caused. Maryanne didn't believe it havening met the boys earlier. She wasn't too fond of him chasin' them.**_

"Rosco P. Coltrane." She points her finger at him.

Rosco looks down with an innocent look on his face. He twirls his hat nervously in his hands. "Yes, ma'am."

Bo and Luke look at each other and smile at the dilemma going on.

"Maryanne."

Rosco stops twirling his hat as she corrects him. He holds his hat to his chest.

"Maryanne."

Maryanne leaves the Boars Nest and Rosco follows.

Bo and Luke are still smiling. Bo looks down at the ground, shaking his head. He wipes his eyes. They were watering because he was fighting the urge to laugh.

Cooter walks up to the boys. "Wooeee." Cooter said. "That Maryanne sure is somethin' I'll tell ye that."

"She's sure got Rosco on a tighter leash then Boss Hogg." Bo said teasingly.

"Somethin' doesn't set right about her with me though." Luke said, crossing his arms.

"At least Rosco will be outta your hair for awhile." Cooter said, looking on the bright side.

_**That's what Luke was afraid of. He had trouble belivin' that any girl would be interested in Rosco. Especially with what happened 4 years ago with Sue Anne. She only wanted to marry Rosco so her husband could rob the bank. Speakin' of robbing banks, while the boys left the Boars Nest and by the time they got into town, the Hazzard County Bank was being robbed. **_

Bo and Luke walk past the bank as the two bank robbers rush out. They nearly knock Bo over when they run into them.

"Hey, what's the idea?" Bo shouted at them.

"Bo I think they just robbed the bank. " Luke said, stating the obvious.

_**You think?**_

Bo and Luke try to chase after them, but they lose them.

"It was the same car that made us run off the road." Bo noted.

"We'll go to the courthouse and tell Enos to put an APB on it."

_**Things aren't' looking good for Maryanne. If they trace that car back to her husband, they could trace him back to her. And her cover would be blown. And I'm starting to like her, but not as much as Daisy of course.**_

"You don't think…..those guys came into town the same time Maryanne did right?" Bo said.

Bo and Luke were at the farm. Bo was sitting at the kitchen table while Luke paced. They were waiting on the word form Enos.

Enos came on the CB. Bo and Luke practically fought over the mike. Luke got it away from Bo.

"Lost Sheep to Deputy Dog, over."

"I got some news about that black sedan."

"Don't tell us, knowing our luck it's stolen." Luke said.

"No. It belongs to a guy named Ray. He's wanted for forgery, and so's his wife."

"Wife?"

"A Marian Casey."

"We don't know a Marian, unless she's using an alias."

"I just knew somethin' wasn't right about her." Luke says.

"Let's go find her and get some answers." Bo and Luke leave the farm. They use Uncle Jesse's truck while the General was being fixed. Uncle Jesse was in town with Daisy doing some shoppin'

They couldn't find Maryann anywhere, so they back tracked.

"I haven't once seen her leave Rosco's side once." Luke said.

"Where ever he is she is." Bo couldn't think of a place she could be.

"The question is why she is spendin a lot of time with Rosco. She's got to at least be the same age as Daisy."

"If she was a criminal, you'd think she'd be stayin' away from him."

"Not if you really got to know Rosco." Once you got to know him he wasn't threatening.

_**They found Maryanne at the Sheriff's department. **_

_**Bo and Luke filled her in on what they knew. **_

"I got no choice to arrest you now." Enos was about to handcuff Maryanne.

"You're married?" Rosco asked, walking in. He'd over heard the conversation.

"Rosco just let me explain."

"We'd like to hear an explanation." Luke said, interested in what she had to say.

Boss interrupted him. "She's married to a criminal. There's no need for an explanation."

"You didn't really care about me." He had been taken for a fool again. He should have known a woman like her would never be interested in a man like him. But what exactly had she been using him for? He couldn't recall. She'd been nice to him. And she was still being nice now. She hadn't hid her real self from him but she lied to him. But how could he know what was the real her? She lied for a living. Yet so did he, coming up with schemes with Boss.

"Rosco, I really do care about you. And I'm not married. He's my ex-husband. He don't mean a thing to me. He tried to get me to rob the bank with him. But then I met you. You and Sandy May are only what's important to me."

"But you only just met me." Rosco said.

"Boss, you can't have her arrest. She ain't done it. "Bo said. Innocent until proven guilty.

"That's right." Rosco believed Maryanne. "If she says she has nothin' to do with it, she has nothin' to do with it." He turns to Bo. "That don't mean I I'm agreeinin' with ye."

Ray, Maryanne's ex-husband enters. "I got the money, now let's scat darlin'

"Oh, Ray I wouldn't get back with you even if you had a million dollars." Maryanne said.

"I do have a million dollars."

"I decided to stay here and raise Sandy May. She's better off round these nice country folk. And I met a very nice man."

"What do you see in an old coger like this?"

"I'm only forty-eight." Rosco said.

"Rosco if you're forty-eight you've been for five years." Bo said.

"You're fifty-three?" Maryanne asked. So he had lied to her too. It didn't matter to her that she was that much older. She lied she was ten years younger, him, five years.

"That's only…..nine...teen years difference, right?" Rosco asked.

"Yeah, but uh….Rosco, I've been lyin about something's to save my own hide since I came here. I'm not…thirty-five. I'm twenty nine."

"She's two years older 'n me." Bo said. "You were off by four." Luke had been betting Maryanne was no older than Daisy. Daisy was four younger than Bo. "You owe me five bucks." He put his hand out to Luke to give up the cash.

Luke just shoved his cousin's hand away. Interested in seeing how this played out. He need to be at the ready if he needed to be involved.

"I guess you have to leave." Rosco said to Maryanne. He took a step forward to walk over to her. At least he could do was walk her out. He only got one step.

Ray pointed a gun at Rosco. The Duke boys and Maryanne watched helplessly. "Hold it, nice and easy Sheriff."

Rosco steps forward. "Now just you…" The man fires the gun straight up at the ceiling. Rosco throws his arms over his head as plaster rains down.

Bo runs into Ray knocking him to the ground.

Ray gets up grabbing the money and runs out of the Sheriff's department.

"My money." Boss shouts. "Get after him."

Bo and Luke take after him followed by Enos, and Rosco.

Bo, Luke, and Enos get into the Enos' patrol car and take off after Ray.

As Rosco gets into the patrol car, Maryanne gets into the passenger's seat.

"What are ye doin?" He asks her.

"Just follow them." Maryanne says, putting on her seat belt.

Bo rams the Patrol car into the side of the Sedan. The Sedan rams him back. The road up a head ends and Bo turns the wheel sharply to the right. The Sedan stops at the end of the road.

Rosco runs into the black Sedan. Maryanne and Rosco get out.

"Nice one Rosco." Maryanne says.

"I meant to do that." Rosco said, straightening his tie.

Bo and Luke get out of Enos' police car.

Enos arrests Ray.

"Ready him his rights Enos." Rosco shouted at Enos. Enos took out the card and read it slowly. Rosco went over to his and took the card out of his hands. "Never mind that, can't read the rights right dipstick."

The Dukes and Maryanne all smile.

He walks over to Maryanne. She stood next to Rosco as they watch Enos put Ray in the back of his patrol car. She felt evermore safer. What now?

"So that's…That's twenty-four years…" She started to say. There was twenty-four years between them.

"What's wrong with that?" Rosco asks.

"Nothin'" She smiled. She grabbed him by the tie (with her other hand she took of his hat) and pulled him into a kiss.

* * *

Rosco and Maryanne were sitting in his patrol car. They were at one of his speed traps. He seemed a little fidgety. She asked him to pull over. Had he ever sat in a parked car with a girl before? He acted like he didn't know what to do when he was alone with a woman.

"Thank you for tonight." She said, 'for coming to my rescue."

"I wasn't goin to let 'im get away with it."

She smiled, her eyes glistening in the moonlight. She moved toward him and he realizes what she's going to do. His breath catches in his throat.

She pressed her lips to his. Everything inside Rosco froze up. He didn't know what to say. A million different things started running through his head. _How long was she going to keep this up? Could I risk another heart break, be taken like a fool again? If she really did like me, what could she see in me? I'm almost 50 and she's young and beautiful. She gave me the vapors._

She sat on his lap, putting a hand on the side of his face. She runs her fingers through his hair, then traces his side burn with one finger. She pulled away. "I knew you were special the first time I met you." She told him.

"I feel the same with you…" That was all she needed to hear. She kissed him again. _If she keeps doin' that I'm going to have a heart attack. I'm with a beautiful girl that cares about me. I..._

She looked him in his eyes. He found he had to look away from her but he couldn't take his eyes off her. His eyes were wide and almost childlike as he stared back at her. This girl was truly something special. Suddenly he didn't know if he could do this. These things he was feeling; these weren't feelings he had ever allowed himself to feel in a long time in decades. He had never been able to be so open and helpless with a woman; it was strictly against his own rules. How was it that this woman, who barely knew him, was able to read him like this? How was she able to get under his skin and expose the vulnerability that he never let anyone see? If he gave in to this connection, that was it; he would get hurt again. Eventually she would leave him or she would hang around too long and get herself killed like everyone else who seemed to get close to him. All his old friends were dead, Joe and Lea Duke, Otis Strate. One way or another it would not work out for them, so why set himself up for the fall?

He tried to so hard to push her away and put a safe distance between them, allowing himself to reenter his safety shell. He could already feel himself retreating, but something about her refused to let him go. He knew that he couldn't escape this connection, no matter what he did. There was no point in trying. So, instead of fighting it, he decided to surrender. He would allow her in and he would get hurt in the end, just like he always did.

"Uh…" He didn't know where to start. He seemed to take her in as if this would be the last time he'd see her. Maybe it was. He didn't want it to be. _Lordy, she's beautiful. _He could feel lust burning in him and he felt dirty. It finally made him break his gaze. He turned his head toward the driver's window. _But I don't want her to leave. _

Sensing something was bothering him, she got off his lap and slid back into the passenger seat. He still didn't turn his head away from the window. Did she embarrass him or did he not share the same feelings? She decided to go in for the kill. She didn't want to lose him. "What's the matter Rosco?"

Her voice made him turn to face her. She was sort of afraid that he wouldn't notice her. But he was giving off a nervous feeling. She could feel the testosterone in the air. "You can tell me." She starts playing with his tie.

"No, I can't….Boss..." He remembered Boss never wanted him to be this close to anybody because it would ruin his plans. But tonight for the first time Rosco was thinking for himself.

"You can tell me anything." She grabs his tie and pulls him close. She started to undo his tie.

"Um…." He was going to tell her that they really shouldn't do that. The words couldn't come out of his mouth. He couldn't explain what she made him feel. He felt nervous when he was alone with her and his heart always fluttered. It was nothing he ever felt around any other woman. He wanted to protect her, to hold her. Perhaps he only loved her as a daughter? Then why did he feel desire toward her. Maybe he did love her. And if she was the only one who would ever love him he couldn't let her go.

Maryanne smiled at his awkwardness. She had him flustered up like a school boy. And he seemed to be thinking hard. "What's on your mind? Is there something you need to tell me?"

"Well there was one thing…..but I…I'm not sure." There was one was to insure he wouldn't lose her, at least not too soon.

"Yes?" Was he not sure about them? They could work it out before they go anywhere.

"How would you like to eh….become Mrs. Rosco P. Coltrane?"

"Rosco, I'd love to!" She threw her arms around him, pulling him into a hug. She had him. He was hers and she was his. That felt right.

They enter the Boars Nest.

"Good news, good news." Rosco said.

"We're getting married." Maryanne says.

Everyone cheers.

"Congratulations Rosco!" Daisy says.

"No, that's not good news. It's bad news." Boss said.

"Enos, I'd like you to my best man." Rosco says.

"I'd be honored Sheriff." The deputy smiled. For once he wasn't being yelled at.

"I was supposed to be your best man." Boss said. He throws his hands up in the air and sits down.

_**There you have it, a story where Rosco fell in love and finally got the girl.**_ _**Seemed impossible didn't it. Well if you live in Hazzard, anything can happen.**_


	4. All is Fair in Love and Moonshine

Chapter: All is Fair in Love and Moonshine

Rosco keeps actin' stranger and stranger. He even teams up with common "out laws" to stop Boss from framing them for moon shine. But Maryanne has other plans.

* * *

Rosco and Maryanne arrived at the Boar's Nest. Getting out of the patrol car, she walked over to him and linked her arm in his as they walked inside.

"I never had a real wedding before. The last one was kind of in a hurry. I always wanted an old fashioned weddin, with a baguette and brides maids, and the decorations." She was talking a mile a minute. "What colors…"

"Ah, there it is." Rosco had a smile on his face, a finger pointed at her.

"There's what?"

"You don't really want to marry me. You just want the flowers and the fancy weddin'." He had been fooled before. Yes, he had asked her to marry him. It had been because he was floored by her. And he had felt she was the right one for him.

"You are so full of it. Oh she's just using me so she can have her big fancy wedding. You think I'm falling for that? Let me tell you something….." She paused, out of breath. Thinking about what she was going to say next.

The customers turned to watch the commotion, even Bo, Luke, and Daisy.

"I meant what I said I loved you and I love you." She hit him in the chest but not hard. Rosco still stumbled back though. "And we're getting married. I don't care if you're scared or nervous. If you get cold feet…..get some socks." She leaves the Boar's Nest.

_**The wedding took place at the church that week. Everyone turned up. Mama and Lulu were cryin' well that's not out of the ordinary, they always cried at weddin's. **_

_**The reception was filled with a lot of dancin' and a lot of fun. At a Hazzard weddin' everyone felt like family. **_

Maryanne watching Bo dance, "That is terrible, that his embarrassin'" She couldn't help but laugh. She was getting a kick out of it.

"Cooter Davenport, you're late for my wedding." She said as Cooter entered the dance hall.

"I was tunin' up yer Firebird. She's already to go."

Maryanne picked up the ends of her dress and strides over to him. "You may defiantly kiss the bride."

Cooter put his hand over her face.

_**Maryanne and Rosco returned**_ _**the day before the fourth of July, t**_**he day** _**after, Boss had a heart attack. Relax folks it wasn't nothin' serious, everyone was being nice to him. Uncle Jesse, Daisy, and the boys gave 'im no hassle. That was because he wasn't in the mood to pull any scams, even on them. **_

_**And Lulu did anything he wanted, and Rosco, well he did that anyway. **_

"Why don't you take a nap little Buddy?" Rosco asked.

"I'm not tired." Boss was sitting in his barbers' chair.

"That's what my cousin Earl said when he fell asleep with a cigarette in his hand." His second cousin Earl was older than Rosco. There was about a twenty years difference. He was the only cousin Rosco ever really got along with.

"Set his bed on fire?" It wouldn't be surprising. Coltrane's always seemed to be brainless buffoons, except for his Lulu-kins.

"No, he set off his firework stand. "

Boss gives him a look.

Rosco called Maryanne on the phone.

"I can't come into town. Sandy May's takin' a nap. Why don't you come over here?" She looks over at the couch were Sandy May lay. Flash lay curled up beside her.

"I can't I'm taking care of Boss." Rosco said.

"I see those kinds of scam artists all the time and I don't want to see you be taken advantage of. "  
Maryanne said. She'd been informed by Bo and Luke that Boss was constantly coming up with schemes. She would have to watch he doesn't involve her into one of his schemes. The chance was unlikely. He seems more interested involving the Dukes into his plans. When did all the rivalry start anyway? She wondered.

"It's just the way it is." Bo had told her. She scenced that he didn't know why either.

"I'm just taking care of my friend." Rosco said to her.

"No, you're providing food and shelter to a Hog." Couldn't he see Boss's intentions?

"Rosco, where's my dinner?" Boss calls in the background.

"Enos, you dipstick is Boss' meal done yet?"

Enos (Calls from somewhere.) In a minute Sheriff."

"He gets room service?" Maryanne asked disbelievingly.

Rosco tells her he has to go and hangs up.

_**Bo and Luke were at Cooter's, getting a tune up on the General. There was nothing wrong with him. They both decided he should get one. **_

"Well all seems quiet on the eastern front." Cooter said. He wiped the oil off his hands with an already dirty cloth. "No police sirens, you boys not getting set up on false charges, no nothin'

"We shouldn't be gettin' used to it though." Luke said.

"They'll probably be back to their old antics soon." Said Bo.

"You know I think Maryanne is doin' Rosco some good." Cooter said. "Couldn't of found no one better."

_**To be honest Bo and Luke weren't starting to like it. **_

"Guys, you're takin' it all wrong. Married couples fight some time or another and go behind each other's backs. Besides he won't be given up on you boys any time soon. Rosco loves hot pursuit too much."

_**Ol' Cooter was right. **_

"Cooters right." Bo said.

_**Isn't that what I just said? **_

"How many times he's said it?" Luke said.

"Hot pursuit. I Love it I love it." Bo imitated Rosco. They all laugh as he and Luke leave the garage. Cooter waves at them.

Rosco walks into the living room from the kitchen.

"Is my little fat buddy ready for desert?"

"Is it my favorite?"

"Peach Cobbler."

"With ice cream?"

"I'll be right back." He leaves the room.

_**Boss went to Doc Appleby who gave him a clean bill of health. It was like the heart attack never happened. But that wouldn't stop he from getting what he wanted. I didn't know Boss could sink that low. Any further and he would be dirt. **_

Rosco: How'd it go?

"It's bad news Rosco. I can go at any moment."

"You mean as in Rest in Pieces?"

"Its rest in peace you moron." He shouted. But then he said polity with a smile, "I mean Rosco."

_**Back at the Boars Nest Boss was discussing his plan with Rosco. **_

They just arrived and are talking outside.

"I'm gonna frame those Dukes for moonshinin' one last time." Boss says getting out of his Cadillac.

Maryanne over hears Boss and Rosco's plan. Boss wants Rosco to plant the evidence at the Duke Farm.

She sees Boss and Rosco go inside the Boars Nest. She comes out of her hiding place and goes into the Boars Nest.

"Boss, I'll…..I'll get them materials later. " Rosco said, referring to the moonshine.

"No, you won't. " Maryanne scolded.

"No, I won't." Rosco peers back in Boss's office. "I will." He looks back at Maryanne, catching her giving him a look; he puts on a serious face and shakes his head.

_**Maryanne might be a little pushy, but on the bright side of things she can keep ol' Rosco in line. Hopefully she doesn't do it too much. It just wouldn't' be Hazzard without Boss having Rosco on a tight string.**_

He leaves.

Maryanne knocks on Boss's office door.

"Come in." He said.

Maryanne enters Boss's office.

"Listen up Hogg."

"Maryanne, why hello." Boss says in a polite tone. He's holding a cigar in his hand. He leans back in his chair, feet resting on his desk. "What can I do for ye?"

As she's talking he lit his cigar.

"Rosco's married now so he's qualified more than you owe him. If you do what I say I won't tell anybody about your little scam to frame the Duke boys."

"What do you want me to do?"

"I'm gonna make sure you don't cheat him out of anymore, which I know you're going to like the sneaky scam artist you are."

"How do you know I'm a sneaky scam-artist?"

"I was married to one."

"Name what it's gonna take to keep your mouth shut."

"You pay him more than twenty percent."

"More than twenty percent?" He nearly coughs on his own cigar smoke.

"Thirty." She sat down on the edge of his desk. They both got into a start down.

"Twenty."

"Forty."

"Thirty."

"Fifty."

Boss finally blinked. "Fine fifty. If he messes up doing his job, I'll cut his pay back."

Suddenly Lulu's voice drifts in from outside the door. "No you won't J.D. Not if you want me to cook for you again."

"Thanks for coming to my rescue Lulu." Maryanne called to her.

"Ooh. I swear these women are gonna kill me." Boss leaned back in his chair, throwing his hands up in the air. Maryanne hopped of the desk, a smug smile on her face. She left the room satisfied.

It was after dinner time at the Coltrane house. And Maryanne had just put Sandy May to bed. When she came downstairs Rosco was still at the kitchen table as usual, waiting for her. Instead of going straight to cleaning the dishes, she sat down at the table next to him. "Why do you let Boss treat you like that?" Maryanne asked Rosco.

"Like what?" He didn't know what she meant. There was a lot of ways Boss treated him. Sometimes like a friend.

"He's using you." Maryanne pointed out, if he hadn't noticed already.

"Maybe I liked to be used." Truth was he did. For what happened in the past, it was a way to forget it.

"Being used is not good." She said to him.

"It's not?" He'd always felt good. That he had accomplished something, when Boss used him to go through with his schemes, framing the Dukes. Even if it wasn't schemes involving framing the Dukes. They always seemed to get into the middle of it and put an end to the schemes. He was sort of grateful that they did. But it also reminded him that when the scams failed, he'd lose the money that was going to make up for his pension. It fueled his vengeance on the Dukes.

"No." He didn't use his brain sometimes. He let other people us it for him, namely Boss Hogg. She wondered how Boss had him wrapped tight around him little finger. And why they always wanted to frame the Dukes. She wanted to tell him what she knew, so she did. "I overheard you and Boss talkin. Framin' those nice boys, I don't like it. And I don't like you doin' it."

He knew she was trying to talk him out of it. "You know what Boss'll think…."

"Who cares what Boss Hogg thinks. You're a smart, sophisticated man, and you have a mind of you own. Why don't you use it?"

"I guess so I don't have to think about things." There were so many parts of his past he wanted to forget. He tried not to think of the reason he disliked the Dukes.

"Now's the time to think for yourself and do what you feel is right."

"How am I gonna do that?"

"By going over there and un-plant that evidence."

Uncle Jesse looked out the window of the farm house kitchen. He saw Rosco toying around with the General Lee. "What does he think he's doin?'

"Who is it?" Bo asked coming over to the window.

"Rosco." Jesse said.

"What's he doin out there?" Daisy asked.

"I'll give you one guess." Luke said. "He's out here on Boss's orders."

Bo, Luke, and Daisy walk outside after Uncle Jesse.

"Rosco!" Uncle Jesse shouted.

The sudden call of his name made him hit his head on the inside of the trunk. He shut the trunk and turned to see all four Dukes were coming toward him. He jumped as the General's trunk slammed shut.

"Purvis Coltrane." Jesse finished waving a finger at him. "What were you doin' to the General Lee?"

"Nothin…..I was just….."

Bo goes to the General's trunk and opens it. "Shine Rosco?"

"You were going to frame us again." Luke said.

"No I wasn't. " Rosco said defensively.

"Then why are you here if it's not to frame Bo and Luke, or give them a ticket? " Daisy asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"Well it's real simple Daisy…" Rosco started to explain. "But you see I got special Sheriff Duty to perform. I'll just take that shine."

"Now just you hold it Rosco." She grabbed Rosco by the tie.

"You better answer her Rosco." Jesse said. Daisy could have quite a temper.

"Well you see now…"

"Boss was going to frame us for moonshine again." Luke pointed out.

"And you was just planting the evidence." Uncle Jesse added.

"No, that wasn't what I was doin." Rosco said honestly.

"Then what you were you doin '?" Bo asked.

"Someone's gonna frame you for somethin' and I can't say.

"Rosco we all know its J.D." Uncle Jesse said. "You can let 'im go now Daisy."

"I can't get caught with it in my car." Rosco said.

"We'll dump it." Luke offered.

"What if that was the plan?" Bo asked Luke.

"I'll dump it if you don't believe me." Rosco said taking one of the jars from Bo.

And he did just that. He dumped it in the creek behind the farm house.

"Why would he try and take back that shine?" Jesse wondered, after Rosco had left. Bo and Daisy had done back to bed. He and Luke were at the kitchen table.

"Looks like Maryanne has him on the ol' ball n' chain." Luke said.

"Rosco always had a soft spot for women, children and dogs." Jesse said beaming.

"Not pacifically in that order I take it." Luke said guessing.

"Most likely. But don't tell anyone." They both smiled. Luke put his thinking face on.

"How do you know so much about Rosco?" He asked Uncle Jesse.

"We've known each other for years."

"You seem to know more about him than we do."

"I've known him longer."

"Now, Uncle Jesse I don't quite believe that's just it."

"Let's keep this conversation closed." Uncle Jesse said getting up from his chair.

Luke wondered what that meant. He was hoping to detect it in his voice, but Uncle Jesse's tone had been neutral.

While the Dukes are all sleeping for the night, a car pulls up into the year. It parks close to the General Lee. A blonde female steps out of the car. It was Maryanne.

_**Now what do you suppose she's up to?**_

She goes to the trunk of her car and pulls out jars of clear liquid.

_**The Duke boys are going to be in a lot of trouble if that's what I think it is.**_

She tip toes over to the General and starts loading the jars into the trunk. She keeps glancing back at the house as she places jar after jar into the General Lee.

The next afternoon Maryanne phoned in an anonymous phone call that she saw the Dukes loading moonshine in their car.

She went to the Sheriff's department after placing the call. She'd gotten Lulu to watch after Sandy May.

She asked Rosco if he could take her for a ride to one of his speed traps sometime again. She liked sitting out there with them. This time she was hoping they'd run into the Dukes so her plan would fall into place.

"Someone made an anonymous call." Rosco said.

"I was the one who made it." Maryanne said. She explained to him. She did it to make him happy. She didn't explain that part to him.

"You made the anonymous phone call and put the moonshine in the General, after I took it out?" He asked. Why would she do that if she didn't like him framin' the Dukes?

"To make them think you got rid of it." She said. It didn't really answer his question. So he had to ask the question out loud.

She didn't want to tell him the truth. She thought she was out of that kind of life style. After this she wasn't interferin' with the likes of Boss Hogg. She lived 6 years with someone like him. And she couldn't stand Rosco go down that path. She just wanted to fix the mess she started, by tellin' Rosco she overheard. She wouldn't see him up to Boss Hogg's schemes if he was out on patrol or around Boss Hogg.

"I thought you said you didn't want me framin' 'em."

"I had to give it a try. I'm a little out of practice."

"Kew, that's why I love ye. You come up with cleverer plans than me and Boss."

She leaves the Sheriff's department.

She sees the boys, Jesse and Daisy outside.

"Can anyone of ye hand me a lift, if it's not too much trouble?" She asks them.

"We're about to head back to the farm,

"You're more'n welcome to come visit us for dinner sometime." Uncle Jesse invited.

"How does now sound?"

"I suppose."

"As long as you don't bring Rosco." Luke joked. But he was cautious about it. Knowing Rosco would probably be up to one of Boss's antics. And if they started to come over occasionally, things might change between them and Rosco.

"She can bring Rosco." Daisy said. "If it don't bother you none Uncle Jesse." She never got to meet them as a couple or got to properly congratulate them.

"No. He is her husband. It's only fair."

"Thanks, Jesse." Maryanne said. "Daisy." They were more understanding than the boys.

Jesse got into his truck with Daisy. "Nice girl." He said to Daisy. Maryanne was good for Rosco. It bugged him that the boys couldn't see it.

"Maryanne, what do you see in Rosco anyway?" Bo wondered.

"He's sweet."

"There's gotta be somethin; else." Luke said.

"He acts differently when he's around everyone else. There's somethin' about him ya'll don't know about."

"We know Rosco." Luke got the feeling that she was implying they didn't know Rosco at all.

"Apparently ye don't." She got in the General. Bo and Luke get in on either side of her.

Bo starts the General up and pulls away from the curb. Luke opens his mouth to say something.

Maryanne points a finger at him, "If you say anything to patronize me about him, I'll make y'all turn this car around." She faced back toward the road and crossed her arms.

"Don't mind my cousin." Bo said. "He's just jealous."

"Bo, I am not." Luke started.

"I'll need to use you phone to call him when I get up there."

"You can just reach him on the CB." Bo looks in the rear view mirror. "Speakin' of Rosco."

Rosco and Boss are chasing after the General.

They are on a country road when they see Uncle Jesse's truck in front of them.

Uncle Jesse shouts out the window, "Don't hit my truck, you idjit's."

Daisy CB's Luke. "Y'all comin' a bit to close."

"Try and speed up to give us enough room." Luke said.

The truck speeds up as the General does a sharp turn, the end slightly going off the road.

Rosco follows, but the back end of his patrol car slides off the road and rams into a fence.

_**If ol' Rosco keeps doin' that there'll be no more fences in Hazzard. And guess who all has to put 'em back up?**_

"Why are they chasin' us?" Luke asked.

"That's kinda my doing." Maryanne said. "I put somethin' in the trunk they want."

"What?" Bo exclaimed.

Enos is still going after them.

Maryanne stomps on the gas pedal.

"Hey, Lady" Bo exclaimed. " would you make up your mind?" He tried to get her foot off the gas.

"Bo, look out." Luke shouts as he sees that they're catchin' up to Uncle Jesse's truck, and fast.

Bo turns the wheel to make the General do a 130.

Luke lunges from the passenger seat to hit the break.

_**I'd say out of all the close calls, I'd say this one was too close to call. Now don't go away now, you hear?' **_

The General comes to a complete stop, barley missing the truck.

They get out of the General. Uncle Jesse and Daisy get out of the truck.

"What in the world..." Uncle Jesse started to ask for an explanation from the boys.

Rosco and Enos come up behind them in their patrol cars and get out.

Boss climbs out of Rosco's Patrol car. "We're under the suspicion that your boys are haulin' moonshine."

"Well, that's ridiculous." Uncle Jesse said.

"Yeah, we saw Rosco..." Daisy began, but Uncle Jesse shook his head.

"He better hope it's still there." Boss opens the trunk and inside is jars of moonshine.

"We didn't put that there." Bo said. "Maryanne did."

"She tricked us into thinkin' Rosco got rid of the shine. She replaces it and put it in the General's trunk."Luke explained.

"Maryanne? " Boss said shocked. "She did. She did. Enos arrest her."

Enos takes out his handcuffs.

"Don't you touch her pretty little hand Enos." Rosco goes over to them.

"She's under arrest." Boss said.

"For what?" Rosco asks.

"For framing the Duke boys and the possession of moonshine."

"Y'all don't have te make a big deal about it." Maryanne said. "It's just water."

"She would say that." Boss said pointedly.

Uncle Jesse takes the jar from the truck, opening the bottle he sniffs the contents. He takes a sip. "Ah." Jesse said admiring the refreshing taste of spring water. Boy was he thirst from all that chasin. "Yep. I'd say that's water."

"You're in on it together. I knew it." Boss turns to Rosco. "I knew that no good wife of yours was no good. You were supposed to stay single."

"Oh lighten up Boss. " Daisy says.

"Yeah Rosco's lucky he's got a girl who likes him for who he is." Bo chimed in.

Rosco stands there wondering if he should be insulted or not. "Was that a compliment?"  
"Yeah." Bo nodded. He hoped that was the reason why Maryanne had married him.

Rosco smiles. "Kew. Kew. Mrs. Rosco P. Coltrane. I love her. I love her." Maryanne stands beside Rosco and Rosco puts his arm around her shoulders.

"No, you don't love her. She foiled my plans." Boss throws up his hands. "oh, them Coltrane's. Oh, them Dukes."

"I still got to do some hot pursuit." Rosco said happily.

"I knew how upset my little cupcake was. So I put the water in the General Lee to get them thinkin' it was shine. I did it that way so the Dukes wouldn't get framed. Everyone's happy. And I'd do anything to make my husband happy."

"I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing." Bo pondered.

"Of course it is." Luke said. "I know I put this off long but, welcome to Hazzard Maryanne."

"But if you boys put one toe outta line I'll have Rosco after ye."

_**She just can't make up her mind now can she? One minute she allows Boss to set up trouble for the Dukes, the next second; she's trying to save the Dukes from trouble. She's got a quick temper and a maaaad lead foot. I think she's gonna fit in just fine, in Hazzard.**_

_**When Lulu found out Boss lied about the report from Doc Appleby, she cooked him some healthy food to eat. **_

At Boss and Lulu's, Rosco and Boss are sitting at the kitchen table. A big tray of fried chicken in front of them.

Lulu sets a separate plate down for Boss. It has boiled, skinless chicken on it

"This isn't food, this is what food eats." Boss tries to reach for a piece of fried chicken. Lulu slaps his hand away.

"That's for me and Rosco."

"And Flash." Rosco gives Flash a piece of chicken. "Here ye go Flash."

_**It might take awhile till things go back to normal in Hazzard County. That is if you can figure out what counts as normal in Hazzard County.**_


	5. Adventures in Babysitting

Maryanne was outside the courthouse with Sandy May. Bo and Luke pull up in the General across the street. She grabbed Sandy May's hand, looking both ways, she crossed the road. She asked them if they could watch her daughter for a few hours.

"Hey, fella's." Maryanne said as she approached them. The boys were already climbing out the windows.

"Hey, Maryanne. Sandy May." Luke greeted.

"Why do you climb out the windows?" Sandy May asked.

"Race car drivers weld their doors shut so they don't fly open while they're racing."

"Cool." The little girl was amazed. "Are you racing car drivers?"

"Sorta." Luke said, with all those times they had to out run Rosco.

"We were in the NASCAR circuit." Bo said. Luke gave him a look like "how do you expect a 5 year old to understand that?"

"Can I see you racing some time?" Sandy May asked eagerly.

"Well…." Luke began but he looked at Maryanne to the General, and back at the mother.

"Maybe some other time." Maryanne said, taking it into suggestion. "Would you mind watchin' Sandy May for a few hours? I got some business to take care of in the Sheriff's office."

"We don't mine none." Bo said.

"We can take her out to the farm and wait for you there." Luke said. They were headed back that way anyway.

"She'd love that." Maryanne said. "Thanks boys."

Maryanne walked into the Sheriff's department. She greeted Flash by the door. "Hey, there Flash." She bends down to pet her head.

"What do we do?" Bo asked Luke.

"I don't know don't look at me?" Luke responded. They both looked down at the 5 year old that was looking up at them with a sweet inocent look on her face. She had blond hair and freckles like Maryanne, and had the same creamy pale skin. Looks can be deciving, even in little people.

_**I think Bo and Luke never had a babysitting job in their lives.**_

A thought came to Luke's mind. "We always used to watch Daisy. How hard can it be?"

Let's see if they're good runners like they are drivers. Sandy May thought. The blond haired Duke was going to help her into the orange racing car. She slipped out of his grip and took off.

"Come back here, you little…tike." Bo said, chasin' after her.

Sandy May stops running and turns around. "Naner, naner, naner." She taunts him and sticks out her tongue. She blows a raspberry and starts running again.

Daisy comes around the corner and Sandy runs into her.

"Watch ye doin?" Daisy asks her.

"Playing chase with Bo and Luke."

"I used to play that all the time when I was your age. My best advice doesn't let 'em catch ye."'

"I won't." She runs past Daisy.

"We're supposed to be watchin' her." Luke says.

Ray escaped from his prison. They needed a stronger prison to hold him in. He was a con artist and he coned his way out.

His thoughts came to the Sheriff of Hazzard County, the man who took his wife from him. If he couldn't have his wife back he'd get his daughter back.

His partner in crime said, "You want the Sheriff to have it?"

Ray wouldn't kill anyone, maybe hurt, but he wouldn't go far as murdering someone in cold blood.

"No, all I want is my daughter back."

_**Well I'd say that's one determined man. **_

"I ain't ever havin' kids."Bo said. All four dukes were sitting at Uncle Jesse's kitchen table eating dinner.

"You mean you don't want any little Dukes running around one day?" Uncle Jesse asked.

"Maybe one day…." Bo hesitated on the idea.

"At least there's not any little Coltrane's runnin' around." Luke said.

"She might as well be Rosco's kid." Bo said pointedly. She caused enough misgiff as him.

After dinner the boys decided to go for a ride in the General.

Sandy May wakes up in the back on the General Lee. She sits up from the back seat, rubbing her eyes.

Yawning, she looks at Bo and Luke. "Where am I?"

"Sandy May!" Bo does a double take, watching the road before he looks back at her. "What are you doin' back there?"

"We were playing hide and seek and you never found me."She said.

"Uh. You better check it out Bo. Some guys are following us." Luke looked in the rear view mirror.

"They're not gonna try to run us off the road are they?" Bo said. "We got a kid in the back seat." If they did then they were crazy.

"Yeah, but look who's drivin'" Luke points out. "It's Ray."

"Daddy!" Sandy May says excitedly. It's been awhile sense she seen him. She wished her mom and dad would stop fighting and see each other again.

"You think they're after the kid?" Bo asked Luke.

"Why else would he be chasin' us?" It felt strange someone else was following them for once besides Rosco or Enos. The only difference was that they were in a different kind of trouble.

"Get down Sandy May." Luke said to her.

_**While Ray was chasin' after the Duke boys, his two cohorts were planting half the money Ray stole, in Maryanne and Rosco's house. You see Ray planned to get the police to find it there, and it would be taken to court and he would convince the court that it had been her idea to rob the Hazzard bank. Confusing isn't it?**_

Luke reached for the CB. He tried reaching Maryanne but apparently she was nowhere near a CB. He called Cooter.

"I'm not getting anything. I'll get Cooter to try and reach her for us while we take care of this guy." He pressed the button on the CB. "Lost Sheep calling Crazy Cooter."

Cooter answered quickly. "This is craaazy Cooter, I might be crazy….."

"Cooter would you never mind the fan fair, we got a situation here." Luke said.

"You guys wreck your car again?" Cooter leaned forward on the stool he was sitting at in his garage.

"No, some guys are chasin' us again." Luke explained. "Sandy May fell asleep in the back seat and Maryanne's ex-husbands back in town. We think he's after her. Try to reach Maryanne."

_**I know what you're probably thinkin. Why didn't he just call Enos or Rosco? Well he didn't want to make things more complicated. And am I grateful he called Cooter, so I wouldn't have to explain it all. **_

"Over and out." Cooter said. He got right to it.

Luke took out one of his bows and arrows. He climbed slightly out the window, aiming at the other car.

He shot the arrow but it missed.

"Looks like you're losin' you touch cus." Bo said, turning the wheel carefully so Luke wouldn't fall out. _**Now isn't a good time for something to go wrong.**_ "We gotta pick up the pace. Now's not a good time to be losin' it."

_**Knowing the luck them two have it probably will.**_

Maryanne walked out of the Boar's Nest. She had finished a nice talk with Daisy Strate, and her husband Enos. Enos reminded her a lot like Rosco for some odd reason. Maybe it was the boyish charm he had. When she walked back to her car, she heard Cooter coming over her firebirds CB. It was good timing to. She was about to go reach the Duke boys so she could tell them she was on her way to pick up Sandy. She could just tell Cooter to reach them.

She got into her car and reached Cooter back. "Songbird, to Crazy Cooter, are you still there." She got static for a few seconds. Then Cooter came back on.

"Maryanne, voice of a nightin' gale."Cooter said.

"Somethin' up Crazy Cooter?" Despite his voice sounding cheerful, it also sounded strained, forced. It was as if he didn't want to alarm her right away.

"Uh….everyone knows it's me Maryanne. You can just call me Cooter."

"Are you ever gonna tell me, if that's your real name?" She asked, curious.

"Maryanne, I don't know how to tell you this…." Cooter began but Maryanne interrupted him.

"Ray's back isn't he?" Maryanne asked.

"How'd you know?" If Ray was back and she expected it, could she be up to something? Did she have the rest of the stolen money hidden somewhere and got Ray arrested on purpose and married Rosco so she would look innocent?

Nah, things like that didn't happen like that in Hazzard all the time. They usually involved Boss Hogg.  
"I'd knew he'd be back….I just don't know why…" She had been having a tight feeling in her stomach all day.

"Luke said Ray was chain' them in the General. He might be after Sandy May."

Maryanne released the CB button for a minute. She closed her eyes and let out a huff of air, before she came on again. "Why didn't you call Rosco?"

"We didn't want to alarm him. " _**In his terms that meant they didn't want any problems.**_ "She's your daughter; we thought it was best to inform you first."

"Uh huh." _**Now that she thought about it, Rosco would probably just chase after the boys and try to pin it on them.**_

Luke shot at the car again. This time the arrow hit the tire. The car swerved all over the road before coming to a stop.

Another car came down the road. It also came to a stop. Before Bo and Luke could reach Ray, two of Ray's guys came at them.

Ray helped Sandy May out of the General Lee.

"Get in the car Sandy May." He told her.

"Sandy May, don't do it." Bo said.

She knew he was probably going to give her the stranger talk. "He's not a stranger. He's my daddy, silly."

Sandy May got into the car. "Are we going to go see mommy?"

"Not just yet, sweetie pie." He closed the car door and looks at Bo and Luke. "Tie those two up." He said to the two of his cronies.

They all drove away, leaving Bo and Luke on the side of the road, but not before they shot out one of the General's tires.

Enos shows up in his patrol car. "It's Bo and Luke." He said to himself. He pulls up behind the General.

"We could use a hand over here." Luke said as he saw Enos get out of his patrol car. He was relieved to see it was Enos and not Rosco.

"What y'all doing out here?" Enos asked as he started to untie Luke.

"Ray's back." Luke said. "He took Maryanne's daughter." After Enos got him untied, Luke untied Bo.

"I'll try to reach Cooter again." Luke said. He got up and went over to the General.

"Enos I need to use your CB." Bo said wiggling free from the now loose ropes around his wrists. He shook the rope of him and got up off the ground. He went to Enos' patrol car. He reached Maryanne.

"He's got Sandy May."Bo said into the CB.

_**After this, I don't think I would hire Bo and Luke as babysitters. Not because of them, but because the trouble that follows. **_

_**As Maryanne listened in, a thought was brewing in her head. She was planning a trip to visit her parents, who she hasn't seen in six years. She was going to bring Rosco along, but wasn't going to tell him what she was up to. **_

"They're my parents and I haven't seen them in a long time." She told Rosco. She followed him around the house trying to talk him into it. "They'd be happy to learn I have a family."

"I don't know Maryanne…."

"It'll be just us…I already have LuLu watching Sandy May." She came up with the clever lie. If she would have said Bo and Luke he'd probably be bustin' down the door to the Duke farm in an instant. She looked at him with her green pleading eyes.

"Oh, alright." Rosco said. She ran at him with full force and hugged him, almost knocking him off his feet.

"Thank you, Thank you, thank you." She jumped up and down for joy. She stopped and then cleared her throat. "Why don't you go and start packing while I give them a call?"

Rosco went off to the bedroom while Maryanne went into the kitchen.

_**You see Maryanne knew that the most possible place for Ray to be was her home town. She didn't tell Rosco she was tracking Ray down who has Sandy May. I think I got all that straight now. **_

_**He'd find out sooner or later, but right now wasn't the time to tell him. She didn't want to cause any problems. What people kept from Rosco was maybe for his own good. And Maryanne had the right idea. **_

Rosco grabbed a few suitcases from the closet. He took out a brown leather brief case, grabbing it roughly by the handle. As he set it down, it came open. Inside was a lot of green stuff. That's money folks.

A some falls out on the floor.

"Rosco." He heard Maryanne call him.

"Jit. Jit." He hurriedly grabbed the fallen money. He got up from the floor and put went over to the bed where his buffel bag was. He puts it in the bag and some in his front pocket. He goes to the door and locks it. Then he grabbed the suitcase from the floor and emptied the rest of the money into the black buffel bag. He sets the brief case back in the closet.

Going over to his dresser drawer he opened the top drawer. He took out a pistol and put it inside his coat pocket.

_**I don't know how useful that'll be if he plans on shooting it later. **_

Maryanne knocked on the door. "Rosco."

"Just a minute." He said. He noticed his palms were sweating and whipped them on his shirt.

Maryanne turned the knob, but it was locked. What was he doing in there? She placed a firm grip on the knob and tried to pull, at the same time Rosco's grabbed onto the other side. "Rosco?" She jiggled the handle. "Rosco, open the door." She said as if scolding a child.

"I'm pullin.' He said. "It's not openin."

"Try turning it." She said.

He let go of the knob and unlocked the door.

He stepped back as she came in.

"What were ye doin' pullin the door knob?" She asked him.

"Well…..the door was stuck." He said as he walked over to the bed, he pointed toward the door.

"Are you sweatin'?" She saw the sweat stains on his shirt where he had wiped his hands. She thought she saw trickles of perspiration coming from his temples. He shook his head.

"I'm just nervous about meetin' your parents. I don't do parents."

"Well I'm sure they'll love you. " She grabbed the suitcases off the bed and leaves the room.

Rosco grabs the black buffel back and looks back at the doorway. He was nervous about meeting her parents. He wasn't young like her, heck he was almost old enough to be her father. Parents didn't like that.

But what was she doing with all that money? He hoped he wasn't being taken for a fool again. He'd finally found someone who liked him for him, and not using him.

He leaves the room.

Rosco went to Boss's office at the courthouse.

"You're leavin' town?" Boss said, not thrilled.

"You see its family business…."

"Who am I gonna have to help run my schemes." Rosco was the only one he could rely on.

"Boss it's only a few days. You can have Enos as temporary actin' Sheriff." He suddenly winced as he said the words, as if they were painful to say.

"You really mean that Sheriff?" Enos asked. He couldn't believe it. Rosco couldn't even believe what he was sayin'

Maryanne offered she'd drive to Tennessee. After all, Rosco wasn't really familiar with the city. Though he told her he'd been out to Atlanta once.

"It's just me and my ma." Maryanne said.

"You said parents."

"My father left when I was four." She explained that she didn't want to mention it until they got to Tennessee.

"My daddy died when I was four." Rosco said. He didn't look at her. He was looking out the car window.

She was surprised he was opening up to her a little bit more. Maybe they had more in common than they had thought.

Maryanne pulled the Firebird up to the house. She turned onto the gravel driveway.

It was a small blue house.

A red haired woman, that was in her 50's came out. She hugged her daughter. "It's been so long."

"This is Rosco. My husband."

This was certainly an awkward situation. Maryanne had told her she had divorced Ray and got remarried. She had no idea it was to an older man.

Maryanne's mother nodded hello to Rosco. "I'll take your guy's suitcases while you go on in and get comfortable."

They sat down for dinner an hour later.

"What do you do for a living?" Maryanne's mother asked.

"He's the Sheriff of Hazzard County." Maryanne said with a bright smile on her face. She looked at Rosco.

"A lawman!" Her daughter had chosen someone interesting. She had been a trouble maker growing up. She supposed he provided a good income to support Marion. "How long have you been in law enforcement?"

"Mu…"

"Almost thirty years." Rosco said.

After dinner Maryanne helped her mother with the dishes.

"You always liked older men." Her mother said.

"Mum, we don't chose who we fall in love with, it just happens." _**She didn't know how to explain it to her mother. She was determined to do the best she could. I like someone like that, someone who's willing to defend Rosco. **_"I like him because he's nice and caring."

"Like a father should be." Her mother pointed out. That man was too old for her. He was fifty-three. And she herself was fifty. Marion was only twenty-nine. Her daughter had no business with a man that age. She should be finding a younger man to spend the rest of her life with.

"If you're scolding me by telling me he's old enough to be my father….." Because none of that mattered, the age difference didn't matter. You just knew who you were meant for. It's like your souls connected. It was like destiny. She couldn't help that she was born almost two and a half, almost three decades later.

"He is. I don't know why you didn't stay with Ray."

"Younger men don't respect young women. HE respects me." Ray didn't. He was older than her but only by four years. That wasn't old enough. "He makes me feel like I'm something. I can be myself around him and he can be himself around me. He needs me and I need him." They were two lonely broken souls that needed help picking up the peices.

"What young women want in life is a man who can treat her right, preferably a younger man." Her mother was looking down her nose at her.

_As opposed to who's standards? "_All a young woman wants in life is to be treated right and an older man can do better. He brought out somethin' in me that I didn't even know that was there. And he's really good with Sandy May." Now she really had done gone it. She hadn't told her mother about her.

"Who's Sandy May?" Mrs. Beckett asked.

"My daughter." She took out her wallet and showed her a picture. "I have some friends looking after in Hazard." Now she was lying to her mother. She needed to find Ray so all the lying would end. "And yes, she's Ray's. Bet he's a better father than he'll ever be." Maryanne stormed out of the kitchen.

Mrs Beckett wondered what Mary meant by that. She was concerned for her daughter. Was she using this man as a substitute for her real father? Her husband, Marion's father had had good reason's to leave them, to protect them. And Marion's new husband, Marion felt safe around him. She got in her mind that her daughter was behind an illusion, that she was seeking what her father couldn't give her, an was denying it. The way she said "Bet he's a better father than he'll ever be." was she refering to her father or Ray?

* * *

Early the next morning he had woken up before Maryanne and her mother did. He grabbed the newspaper from the porch. He knew he shouldn't but it was a habit.

He went into the kitchen and went to the fridge and poured himself some buttermilk. He sat at the table looked at the paper.

The headlining read,

**"Con Man, escapes Atlanta State Prison."**

Underneath it was a picture of Ray.

"Jit. Jit." He threw the paper down on the table.

So he was probably looking for Maryanne or him. He would look for Ray before he would find them.

Maryanne walked into the kitchen. "What's wrong?" She asked.

"You're outta buttermilk." He said. He was lying to her but it was for her safety. "Why don't I go to the grocery store and get some?"

"I will. You don't know your way around these parts."

"Oh, tiddly tuddly. I'm a Sheriff. I can find my way around places."

Maryanne smiled. She loved it when he said things. Who could say no to that? "oh, all right." She said. "Here's some change for a pay phone if you get lost." She handed him some lose change from her pocket.

"I won't." He said.

He went upstairs to change his clothes, and then left in the firebird. Maryanne hoped it wasn't too much for him to handle. The firebird had a lot of horse power.

"Where's Rosco going?" Mrs. Beckett asked her daughter, as she looked out the window.

"He's going into town to get some more buttermilk." Maryanne said.

"It shouldn't be gone already. There should still be a full bottle in there."

Maryanne went to the fridge and opened it. There was another full bottle.

She picked up the paper off the table. "This is why I left Ray." She showed her mother the paper."I need to borrow your car."

"What for?"

"I'm going after him." She grabbed her jacket off the chair and her mother's key's from the key hook beside the door.

Her mother put a hand on her arm. "Maryanne, don't. He's an officer of the law. Let him handle it."

"Not when Ray's involved and not when my daughter's at stake." Maryanne put on her jacket and was out the door.

Ray spotted the blue firebird. He'd spot that car from anywhere. But it wasn't who he expected that was driving. "Well, lookie here. It's the Sheriff."

"What's he doin' here?" One of his buddies asked.

"He's drivin' Maryanne's car. " Ray said. "That means she's here with him."

Maryanne turned onto Meadow Creek Road. It was a back road that no one ever used anymore. It was lined with abandoned buildings. Up ahead she saw a car. In front of it she saw a glimce of blue. It was a firebird.

They come to a stop in the abandoned store parking lot.

She saw Ray get out of the car as Rosco got out of the firebird. Where was Sandy May?

"Ray." She ran toward the car.

Ray, his cronies, and Rosco all turned to look in her direction. She looked into Ray's car, the back seat door was open. Sandy May was fast asleep. She started to stir.

"Mmm mommy." She said sleepily.

"Stay right there." Maryanne told her.

"If you give me the money you can have Sandy May." Ray said.

"Money means more to you than your daughter?" Maryanne asked appalled.

_**Ray did care about Sandy May but he decided she was better off with her mother. **_

"Where's the money?" Ray asked her.

"What money?" Maryanne had no idea what he was talking about.

"The money that was in the leather briefcase." Rosco said.

"What leather….." She realized what Ray had done. He was going to try and frame her.

Rosco took out the buffel bag from the back seat of the firebird.

"Where is it?" Ray demanded.

"Uh…..it's in here." Rosco said, pointing to the bufffel bag he now held close to him.

"Toss it." One of the men said. Rosco tosses it at Ray's feet.

"Make sure it's all there." Ray told the man that had just spoke.

"There's only a half a thousand. There should be half a million the rest the police confiscated." He looked at the Sheriff. "Sheriff." He went over to Rosco and took out a wad of money out of Rosco's shirt pocket.

_**What do think Rosco was planning to do with that money? That's somethin' Boss would do.**_

"Now pick it up." Ray motioned for Maryanne to pick up the bag.

Maryanne went to pick up the black buffel bag. She hit Ray in the face with it. He went stumbling back. She threw the bag at him. Ray caught it, but the force of it knocked the wind out of him. She and Rosco got into the firebird.

They got Ray back into Hazzard County.

Bo and Luke where near the fishing hole when they saw Maryanne's firebird zip past. Ray was chasing after them.

"That looks like Maryanne's car." Bo said.

"It is." Luke said. "That's Maryanne and Rosco."

"And Ray's following 'em."

"We should follow too, come on, let's go." They both ran to the General. Luke slid across the hood and got in.

"What's Ray doin' here? I mean he is a con artist. He musta escaped somehow."

"You just answered your own question." Luke said. They came to a road where the bridge was washed out. There was a bit of a dirt ramp. The car Ray was in was about to jump it. Rosco was almost on top of him.

"What does Rosco think he's doin'" Luke said, looking ahead.

"He's never gonna make that. "

"Rosco are you crazy?" Maryanne asked after he told her he was gonna jump the ramp.

"Hold on tight, darlin." Maryanne grabbed tight onto the dash board. She looked in the rear view and saw the General Lee coming up behind them.

Bo and Luke skid to a stop.

Rosco's police car jumps the gorge like the Ray just did. "I'm a comin' Sandy May." He miraculously makes the jump.

Ray doesn't make it, the car goes straight into the water. The firebird soars right over the lake and lands on the other side.

_**Who knew Rosco could make a jump like that. And he ain't a really good driver. I guess he just got lucky. That car really does have a lot of horse power. **_

Rosco and Maryanne get out of the firebird. He takes out his gun and goes down the embankment. He arrests Ray yet again. Maryanne goes to her daughter to make sure she's alright.

Bo and Luke got of the General and rushed down to the now swamped car. All of them were relieved they had Sandy May returned to them safely.

"All right you Dukes." Rosco said. "Just don't stand there. Go on outta here, git. Before I cuff ye and stuff ye too."

Bo and Luke just shook their heads and smiled at each other.

"You know Bo, there's still somethin Luke said as he and his cousin started heading back up the embankment. "How is it that the fifty year old guy got the girl?"

"Ma can I ride with Bo and Luke?" Sandy May asked.

"I think you had enough trouble for one day." Maryanne said, picking her up. They waved to the Dukes as they drove off.

_**It would have taken weeks to get it to court, but Ray, being a criminal it was taken up rather quickly. It was important for someone to get custody of Sandy May. **_

The judge was notified of the young woman's past. She had no assistance in the bank robbery. But thinking she might go back to her old ways, he gave custody to the Sheriff. He was at first concerned about Rosco, along with his pension he seemed to have gone downhill. He'd never seen a man that was so respected take up the likes of Boss Hogg. But Rosco was a good man at heart. That did count for something.

"We give full custody of Sandra May Casey to Mr. Coltrane."

"Does that mean you're my daddy now?" She liked Rosco. He was a lot nicer and funny than her old dad. Her other dad wasn't funny at all.

"I..it does." He had the family he always wanted. Still it felt a little too good to be true. Perhaps because he spent half his life without one.

The little girl hopped off the stool and hugged him around the knees. Rosco bent down and picked her up. He couldn't hold her for long, but he'd hold her in his heart forever, her and Maryanne both.

_**Looks like Rosco's a daddy! Not just to Flash anymore.**_

_**Funny how the little things can make Hazzard excitin' ain't it?**_


	6. Holding out for a Duke

Plot: Coltrane's used to get along with the Dukes. So why did it all change with Rosco? An incident more than 20 years ago made Rosco never trust another Duke again.

* * *

July 17, 1962

A jeep zoomed past on the dirt path, crossing the junction at Snake Nation Road.

_**You see them young couple there, those are Daisy folks, Joseph Jebidiah Duke, often called J.J. or Joe and his wife Lee Duke. Daisy looks just like her don't see? **_

Lee stuck her hand out the window, the breeze blowing through her brown hair. Her face wideining into a grin.

_**Joe and Lee Duke were a lot like Bo and Luke, trouble always seemed to find them.**_

Lee was still smiling when she saw a familiar police car come out from its hiding place, pursuing the jeep.

_** And they always had Rosco on their tail. **_

Rosco came on the CB. "All right, you Dukes, pull over I'm in hot pursuit of ye. Kew Kew!

_**I guess it runs in the family. **_

Lee looks back at Rosco, then at the wheel. "Should I?"

"Give it all you got, baby girl." Joe and Lee switch places so Lea can take over the Jeep.

"Sorry Rosco, you're gonna have to be a lot faster if you want to catch us Dukes." Lee shouted into the CB teasingly.

_**But it was never always like that. Believe it or not Joseph Duke and Rosco P. Coltrane were friends, best buds even.**_

_November 5, 1950 _

_**The Boars Nest back then was called The Hazzard Lodge. Other than that nothing much has changed. **_

Two young men were playing cards at one of the middle tables.

Rosco and Joseph Duke always played cards at the Hazzard Lodge on Friday and Saturday nights.

"Lay 'em down J.J."

"Ok." The Duke said. He played his cards. "Let's see what you got R.P."

A beautiful girl, with wavy brown hair, walks in. All the men in the joint turn their heads to look at her. Even Rosco looks up from his cards.

Miss Lee Anne Shields.

All three of them were a year out of high school. Lea was really a woman now.

Lee always liked Rosco. He was always sweet to her. Even though he wasn't that bright, she could still count on Rosco to be there for her. But it was hard to get him alone sometimes. He was always hanging around with that Duke boy. Ever since they were growing up she'd always thought Joseph Jebadiah Duke was up to no good. She couldn't even stand him. Now that she graduated she kind of matured. He did as well. And she took a liking to Joe. J.J. Duke they called him. They rarely called him Joey or Joseph. If they weren't calling him J.J. they were calling him Joe.

"I promise you one thing Rosco, neither one of us will ever marry that girl." Joe said. " Ain't nothin' gonna come between us."

_**But somethin' did. Two years later Joe Duke and Lee got married. Joe, breaking his promise, left Rosco with a broken heart. He too loved the same woman. Even since then Rosco vowed he would never trust a Duke again. **_

_**After Joe and Lee got married Rosco went away to school to become a law enforcement officer. When he came back to Hazzard he had a new outlook on life.**_

_January, 1962_

Rosco pulled over the 1952 blue Mercury convertible, driven by Joe. Lee was in the passanger seat.

_**Yep even those Dukes had sense in style. **_

Rosco got out of his patrol car. "Alright, you Dukes. Step out of the car, with your hands over yer head. I am part of the law enforcement and I will enforce. Or use force."

The Dukes stepped out of the car.

"What's there to enforce Rosco?" J.J. asked

"I pulled you over for speedin' and resisting arrest."

"Get back in the car Lee." Joe said to his wife. Lee obeyed.

"You got insurance?"

"No, I don't think…."

"No insurance." Rosco starts writing out tickets.

"The insurance card must be in the dash board." He turned back to Lee.

Lee got out the insurance card.

Rosco looked in the back seat. There was a car seat in the back. The car seat was empty. "Good thing she wasn't in there. I woulda charged ya with endangerin' a minor."

"Jesse's watchin' Daisy up at the farm." Lee said.

"Well, I oughta pay him a visit, and tell him his Brother and Sister in-law have been arrested."

Daisy was just six months old then. Bo was two and Luke was eight .

Rosco called Jesse that he was placing his brother and sister-in-law under arrest, but they settled it as usual.

_Six months later _

Rosco still liked the thrill of the chase. He wasn't happy till he was chasin' them Dukes. Little did they know things were about to take a turn for the worst.

A truck full of timber logs came around the bend, heading straight toward the Jeep. Lee tries to stop in time but can't. She swerves.

Rosco pulled over his patrol car at the side of the road. "Dang nab it." Rosco hit his steering wheel in frustration.

He had seen the Jeep had gone into the ditch. He got out of his car, rushing over to the Jeep. J.J. and Lee were unconscious. He went over to Lee and checked her pulse.

Panicked he ran back to his patrol car. He grabbed the C.B. mike. He used his instead; not wanting to disturb the bodies. He called Jesse Duke first before he called the police.

Jesse had always been friendly to him, being his kid brother's friend and all.

_**I never saw Rosco so serious. And it's not the right kind of serious. Deep down somethin was breakin' in that man. And he would carry it with him until….well who knows when.**_

"Jesse, I don't know how to tell you this. Lee and Joe had an accident. They almost hit a truck and went into a ditch. It happened so fast….I couldn't….I think they're dead." His voice choked up as tears stung his steel blue eyes. They were threatening to spill over. He closed his eyes, willing it to all be a dream. Tears streamed down his face.

_**I'd feel guilty too.**_

Later that day Rosco went up to the Duke Farm after the wake. Jesse was already cried out by that time. He was still mourning his dead brother and sister in- Law. And his kid brother's friend was too. Part of him still blamed Rosco in later years. But he had to be a good person about it. He got annoyed at Rosco at times. But they way he treated Rosco was never because of him blaming him. It was because of that no good J.D. Rosco had half a mind sometimes. Except in situations like this he seemed cool minded. Perhaps he had to hide behind his persona so he wouldn't think of Joe and Lee and feel the guilt. Rosco wouldn't be able to handle it. Yet he still chased Bo and Luke like he chased Joe and Lee. Tragedy followed the Dukes as much as trouble did. Bo's and Luke's parents died two years before Daisy's parents died. Despite that Rosco still chased after Bo and Luke. Jesse knew Rosco still cared about the Dukes but he didn't want to admit it. Rosco liked chasing Bo and Luke. Sometimes Jesse got a thrill out of it too, when he happened to be in the car with the boys. Bothe of them, never thinking of the danger because they both believed the curse had ended.

Rosco came to see Jesse after everyone left. Jesse knew he hadn't come because he couldn't cope with seeing Joe and especially Lee's body. Not with his guilt. Jesse was convinced that he would have had a break down right then and there, in front of the whole town. He understood Rosco's decision. Everyone would know he had seen them die, that he wasn't supposed to be on duty when the accident happen. Yet he had been there. Rosco blamed himself enough as it was. He didn't need other people blaming him.

No matter how many times he told Rosco he wasn't to blame, he wouldn't budge. He could at least comfort the younger man. Jesse put his hand on Rosco's.

"It's ok, Rosco. It wasn't your fault." He patted Rosco's hand.

Rosco closed his eyes, tears falling. "It was. If I hadn't been chasin' them….." He was barely holdin' it together.

Jesse couldn't imagine what would have happened at the wake. He had almost had a break down, or looked like he was going to have one after the accident. He had held Lee's body in his arms. How much he loved that woman. His heart seemed to break into a thousand pieces. Jesse wondered if it would have been the last straw for Rosco, to have to see her in a casket.

He still had to think about the here and now. His brother's friend would probably keep the blame for the rest of his life. He had to do something about it. At least try, even though he might not listen. "You didn't cause their death's Rosco. The good Lord decides when it's other's folk's time. And it was Joe and Lea's time. No one knows why some die young and some live longer than others."

"I've been horrible to them. I didn't even get to….." He didn't even get to ask them to forgive him or even say goodbye.

"Don't hold this over yourself." Jesse said to the younger man. "It'll do ye no good."

**_Rosco knew he should listen to Jesse's words and he did. But he didn't let go of his guilt. He wouldn't let it go untill...well who know when. A Duke still wronged him and one Duke had been one too many. _**

And not just the Dukes. Too many people had wronged him. And it made him lose sight of what he once truly was, an honest law man and the finniest in the state of Georgia. It wouldn't be his pension alone that would lead him to corruption no more than a year later. When Boss Hogg married Rosco's sister, he found he had a dislike for the Dukes as much as he did. Before he formed a friendship with Boss, he was already on the road to corruption. The last wall between his honesty keeping him from corruption finally crumbled after he befriended J.D. Since then Rosco stuck to Boss like fly paper. And Jesse had felt betrayed. And that's how all the framin' and chasin' came to be.

1970

The day after he lost his pension he walked into the Boars Nest. It took awhile to sink in. He hadn't even told Lulu yet.

Rosco had always wondered how he'd gotten the way he was. He always knew it was because of his pension. But there felt like there was something else. It was like losing his pension had been the last straw. Along with his pension he felt he lost himself, that he had nothing to live for.

That day he had walked into the Boar's Nest no one wanted to look at him because they knew what they had done. He didn't know it but many of them regretted it. They thought that because they took away Rosco's pension, he lost his sanity.

But Hazzard had been in a tough place. The whole city needed money, and a new commissioner. The last commissioner came to the end of his run and moved to Florida for his retirement. J.D. Hogg had run for county commissioner.

Rosco sat down at the bar. He ordered a beer. He didn't care that he was on duty.

"Rosco, ye shouldn't be drinkin' on duty." Mike, the bartender said.

"I don't care. What else do I have te lose?" Rosco said. Miraculously he managed to keep his voice steady.

Mike gave him a beer. The man really did need a pick me up.

"What are ye doin' drinkin' on duty?" Jesse asked as he sat down next to Rosco.

"You alright, Rosco?" Jesse asked the younger man. "Somethin' on your mind?"

Rosco wanted to shout at him. Where the hell have you been? When they took it away from me? You're supposed to be a good friend, look out for your kid brother's best friend. You're just another reason why I don't trust you Dukes. He couldn't say them. The other emotion he was feeling won over. "I'm between a rock and aa hard place, Jesse." He tried showing no emotion at all. It must have worked because he could sense Jesse look at him with a concern.

"What happened?" Jesse asked. He hadn't seen him this way since Joe and Lea died.

What happened? Rosco slammed his glass down. He tired to gain control of himself.

"I lost my pension….." He said with a deep sadness, his blue eyes watering. He was staring off into space. Then he turned slightly on the stool to face Jesse. His eyes were blank, no emotion detectable. "Tell me where it is, Jesse." Rosco's voice rose. "Where is it? The whole damn county took it away, that's where it is." He took his eyes off Jesse, looking sad again.

Jesse was worried by Rosco's sudden shifts in behavior. Maybe the man was losing it. Rosco had lost a lot, his father, Joe and Lea, now his pension. He had been waiting for that money to pay the bills and feed Lulu. He could lose his house if his bills kept going unpaid. Lately he'd been lagging behind in bills. Everyone in town knew it. Jesse offered to help, but Rosco refused. He acted as if he was too good for his help.

The citizen's of Hazzard took his pension away from him. The people he thought that were his friends. Twenty years of working for the law enforcement, he'd been looking forward to it, saving it for his retirement after another 20 odd years. He was counting on it so he could pay the bills and take care of Lulu, like he promised mama. He was unsure of what would happen now.

"Rosco." Someone called his name.

He looked up when he heard the familiar voice of J.D. Hogg.

"I'd like to have a word with you in my office." J.D. said.

Rosco looked at Jesse and then back at the white suited man. Was he going to fire him?

"J.D. this man is deeply upset…" Jesse was trying to tell him to buzz off in a polite way. He could talk to Rosco another time. "I can see that." J.D. said, smiling at Jesse, squinting his eyes. "I believe I can help you with your little predicament." He said to Rosco.

"You can?" Rosco said standing up. **J**_**.D. Hogg had become the richest man in Hazzard County and he just became county commissioner. Rosco didn't believe that he would help him out. What Rosco didn't know that the money from his pension had gone toward Boss's election. **_

Rosco followed J.D. to the back room. He opened the door. Jesse just watched in bewilderment and for the very first time, felt betrayed. Not by Boss, (he had been betrayed many times), but by Rosco.

"After you." The commissioner motioned for Rosco to enter.

_**If y'all didn't know it yet, Boss got him following him like a lost puppy. **_

"I'd gladly take the burden off your shoulders. "

"Really?" J.D. Hogg never paid attention to like of him. Know that he was county commissioner he had doubted that would change.

_**And got him baited like a fish that swallowed the hook.**_

"Why of course, if you'd kindly follow me." Rosco followed J.D. into the back room. "I'll marry your sister, Lulu so she won't be a burden to you. I'll be sure she's well taken care off."

"Thanks J.D."

"You're to call me Boss."

"Boss."

"Sit down, have a seat make yourself comfortable. I have an offer for you." One he couldn't simply refuse.

Rosco sat down at the round table in the center of the room. "I thought that was the offer…."

"No, not that." He wasn't really that smart. But he could find his way around that. "How would you like to run for Sheriff? I could get a good word in to make sure ye win_**." I think this is Boss' first ever scheme, as county commissioner. Know y'all better pay attention folks. This is present day Hazzard in the making.**_

Boss continued,"On one condition." _**I knew there was going to be a catch. **_

"What's that?" Rosco asked.

"You're to do everything I say, without asking about it."

Rosco stood up from the chair. "And why would I do that?" He wasn't going to stand for his antics.

Boss walked over to his future brother in-law and put his hand on his shoulder. "Think of all those people who cheated you out of your pension, you worked hard for. And just think how you can be cheatin' them."

Rosco smiled, that dumb smile we'd all become familiar with. He was becoming the Rosco we all know. "You mean like revenge?"

"Mmm hmm."

"Kew. I love it. I love it." Rosco said cheerfully.

"I knew you would." Boss patted him on the shoulder. He led him to the door. "I want you to come back same time tomorrow so we can discuss things further."

"Sure thing J.D…..I mean Boss." Rosco left the back room.

Boss shut the door behind him. He had Rosco under his thumb. He wouldn't be caught for his schemes he was planning to pull off, as long as he was in office_**.**_

_**Boss thought by marrying Rosco's sister he'd be able to keep an eye on the law man, and get him on his good graces. It didn't take too much to get him on his good graces. Take away a man's pension and tell him you'd take up his burden, you'd have him eating out of the palm of your hand. Yep sounds like Boss. Ole Rosco's never been the same sense. **_

He took to Boss's schemes because Boss initialed him that he'd get back what was taken away. He never did. The only thing he had to look forward to was chasin' the Dukes. The only thing that was keeping him from turning against Boss was the fact that they both disliked the Dukes. Plus if he turned on Boss he would divorce Lulu. And Rosco had come a long way to go back to the way things were.

**_You're probably wonderin' how things took off from there._**

**_It all offically started after the boys won their first race with the General Lee._**

_1977_

It was a few months after the boys found the old '69 Dodge charger and ran it in Boss Hogg's race. After they won, Boss was set on edge. He'd known that they were going to be a problem right from the start. He needed a plan so they wouldn't get in the way of how he ran things. He'd make them part of their schemes instead. They were already on probation for moon shining. Things were slightly changing in Hazzard. And Boss would change things his way. He was starting with making a few changes with his law enforcement. Cletus was temporary Sheriff's deputy. Boss was finally not that cheap to start hiring deputies. He could only trust family right now. Two years later Enos Strate took Cletus's place as deputy. Boss was furious that Rosco hired him without running it by him first. But he saw that Enos wasn't that bright, not even brighter than Rosco was. Still it was what he had to work with. He reminded himself that, _the stupidity of one's colleagues' makes life simpler._

He had plans to keep the Duke boys out of his business. Boss was discussing his first scam involving the Dukes with Rosco.

Wellington had been a trooper for the state police, and a crooked one. She wasn't always crooked. One day she got fed up of how the other troopers treated her because she was a woman. She went freelance and became a bounty hunter. She earned twice the going rate as she made when she was a trooper. She could raise her own price, even break any law that she wanted.

The Dukes went to Hank's Gully, another place they went to play hooky when they were in school. It was the only place they could think of to lay low from the bounty hunter.

"Raise your hands, fellas." The blonde ex-trooper raised her gun at the two boys. They were cornered. They had no place to go. The only way out of this was through the cave and who knew where that led. They turned; ready to run into the cave.

**_I hope they don't have to go through it. They won't have much luck if that's a dead end. _**

The little cave was built into a hill. Rosco had been waiting up on the hill without the boys knowing. He had followed them. He had to act now before one of the boys made a wrong move and someone got shot.

Suddenly he jumped down from the hill landing on top of the bounty hunter. The gun flew from her hand.

The boys turned around when they heard a thud and a shocked cry. Rosco had the trooper pinned down good, despite her struggling beneath him.

"Go on, git out of here." He ordered the boys.

Distracted the woman hit him upside the head but he didn't let that faze him.

Rosco hauled her to her feet just as Cletus was pulling up in his patrol car and Boss was pulling up in his Caddy.

"No, no, no, no." Boss strode over toward Rosco as Rosco was handcuffing her hands behind Wellington's back. Rosco read her, her rights.

Uncle Jesse and Daisy arrived after hearing Boss tell Cletus on the CB where the bounty hunter was headed.

"You're like me." Jane Wellington told the Sheriff. It was only in a voice he could hear. If she could convince him and get him on her side he'd let her go. He was a lost soul and she could save him. Help him get back at the people who wronged him.

"I'm nothing like you." Rosco said in a distasteful tone. He would never intentionally but anyone in danger or wish any harm to anyone. He would use his gun however if necessary.

"Oh really?" She raised her eyebrows at him. "Who are you trying to convince Sheriff?" He was too blind to see it. He loved his job, she could see that. But it wouldn't be too long that he would be trampled over too. "You're treated unfairly. I was. You have a lot of potential to be like me. And pretty soon you will."

Those words haunted Rosco a long while after that.

"You'll be sorry. When it happens." Jane yelled over her shoulder as Cletus led her to his patrol car.

"I won't stand for that load of beef, Wellington." Rosco said, but it was hard to keep serious after saying that.

Bo and Luke silently laughed along with 'im.

Boss came over to Rosco. "Rosco, if you ever go against my authority again I will have you fired, and I'll divorce your fat sister, Lulu."

Jesse and the three Duke Cousins looked from Rosco to Boss. Jesse surely thought that Rosco wouldn't stand for J.D. treating him like this. But the thought was short lived.

Rosco looked down at the ground. "I'm sorry Boss. It…won't happen again." He barely looked up at Jesse. He would usually stand his ground but he couldn't, if his job was going to be at stake. And he couldn't go back to having Lulu living with him again. She was happy and if he disobeyed Boss...he couldn't do that to his sister. She was the one who always looked out for him, he did that for her when she didn't have a job. But now that she was married to Boss he didn't have to anymore. What was the point going against Boss? He knew what his doings with Boss was wrong. But it was the only way he'd get some of his money from his pension back. He didn't know how to go on with his life. He didn't mind having Boss ordering him around.

"Good, it better not happen again." Boss said satisfied.

"Rosco, you outta yer mind?" Jesse asked. "Don't apologize to him. In fact don't even listen to him."

Rosco was truly sorry but he couldn't say it to Jesse. He couldn't even look at the older man. He let another friend down. Then again all the Dukes did was let him down. He followed after Boss. Boss got into his Cadillac and Rosco, into his patrol car.

Jesse stared after Rosco with a expression that read, _I can't believe it." _Rosco never took nothing from anybody. It made Jesse furious that he let a man like Boss Hogg drag him down.

Daisy put her arm on her Uncle's, looking in his direction, then up at him. There was dislike on his face, and disappointment. She'd never seen her Uncle look at anyone like that. She watched as the Hazzard Patrol cars follow the Cadillac down the road.

**_Friends and neighbors you just witness the beginning of some serious fuedin'. Don't that put a snake in your boot?_**

After that little fiasco, Boss changed a little. Being around Rosco softened his heart but not by much. He wasn't as hard as he was when he started out. Rosco has that effect on people.

**_Rosco might be under Boss's shadow, but some things just never change, even in Hazzard County. He still did the right thing. He protected the boys. In fact back then he used to look after on Duke Boy in particular._**

_Summer_ _1975_

Back when Bo was a teenager, he could say he was a different person. He had been more reckless as a teenager. Maybe he was slightly different.

One night, before his senior year in high school, he and a couple of friends were drinking. Rosco had picked Bo up, not telling Uncle Jesse, or charging him for underage drinking.

It was a normal typical, bonfire out on the sticks, drinking a couple of beers with friends. It was interrupted by a whooping sound of a police siren. A few under age minors scattered as the Hazzard County Sheriff pulled up.

"It's the Sheriff." One boy called to the crowd. "Scat."He grabbed his girlfriends hand and they ran. A few other couples and other minors followed.

They all knew how hard Rosco could be when he started cracking down. Even though he lost his pension a good five years back, he still had an honest streak in him. What was left it seemed to get out of reach after Bo graduated high school.

Rosco got out of his patrol car, walking directly over to Bo. A girl to Bo's far right gasped, followed by a few 'oooo's from the ones who stayed behind.

"Bo Duke." Rosco said, in a flat tone.

Bo hung his head, ashamed. Him, ashamed Rosco caught him. "Go ahead." Bo put out his hands.

"Go ahead what?"

"Aren't ye gonna put me in the slammer?" Bo patiently waited for a response. He swore the Sheriff was getting a little slower these days. Now Bo wasn't full on drunk, he was just a little buzzed. But he was still an underage minor and he knew he was going to get chewed out by Rosco for his decision and by Uncle Jesse later.

"Not today." Rosco said, deciding against his honest duty. He'd help Bo out by showing these kids what they wanted.

Bo looked up. He saw the smile on Rosco's face. Instantly knowing what he was planning, Bo smiled.

"But let this be a lessin to ye." Rosco brought his voice up. He wanted it to sound, as well as look believable and it did. He was a good actor, but only when he wasn't under pressure. He was good at hiding things too. Good luck to him if he could hide this from Jesse. Jesse always saw through Rosco no matter what.

"He's gonna get it now." One teenager said.

Rosco put his handcuffs on Bo. "Now I'm gonna have to call yer Uncle Jesse."

"Please Rosco, anything but that. Can ye just let me go? It'll never happen again." It probably wasn't Bo's best performance.

"It's too late for that." He led Bo to the police car and slammed the door shut for good measure. He brushed off his hands smiling. It felt good to finally catch a Duke. He probably wouldn't be making a habit of it. He never was able to catch Joe. Even if it was for pretend, he still counted it. Rosco put on a serious face as he directed this to the onlookers, "As for the rest of ye, shows over. Ye best be scattin' or else you want me callin yer parents." He shook his fist at them as the rest departed and post haste. Rosco smiled again. It was amazing how he could shift through emotions so quickly. Rosco would make a good actor.

"You think they bought it?" Bo asked as Rosco slid into the driver's seat.

"They better." Rosco said still smiling. "Nothin like a good ol' shuckin' and jivin' to flush 'em out. Kew. Kew." He turned the keys in the ignition and put on his seat belt.

Shuckin' and Jivin' Bo liked that phrase.

As Rosco pulled away from the camp site, he looked in the rearview mirror at Bo. It was like old times with Joe. He still blamed himself that he was the cause of their deaths. He was chasin' them for speeding and he shouldn't have been there in the first place. Despite Joe breaking his promise, still he tired to remember the good ol' times with Joe. But he had to remember, that it couldn't be like the old times, and Bo wasn't Joe. He had to handle this situation as an adult and give Bo a talking to. Jesse would have done it. He'd spare Bo that confrontation.

"Rosco, are ye gonna take these cuffs off now?" Bo asked.

"I'm gonna have to have a talk with ye first."

He saw Rosco look at him through the rearview. "Aw, man." Bo hung his head down again.

"You can start by tellin me what you were thinkin. You know better than to do what them hoodlums were doin."

"Everyone else was doin it. That's what the cool kids are doin now a days."

"It's not cool and it's not fun." Take it from someone who knows. Rosco had never been under the pressures Bo had been. But he didn't want Bo end up like he had when he used to drink at his age. He tried wracking his brain for something else to say. One was fine every now and then…..no he couldn't tell Bo that. He wasn't old enough. "Yer Uncle Jesse brought you up better 'n that."

"I know." Bo said, his head still hung down low.

"They're not yer friends if they want ye to engage in activity like that."

Rosco was right. Bo was just hanging around them, just to fit in. Dukes always fit in. He had to keep that legacy up somehow but this wasn't it. He'd probably drink disgrace to the family name. It was his last year of high school, and Luke would be coming back from the marines just in time for his graduation. "You're right, Rosco." Bo said. "They're not worth it."

**_Rosco might be crookeder than a bird dog's hind leg, but he cares about them Duke boys. _**

That was the last real conversation Bo had with Rosco, before he and Boss started finding ways to frame them. Bo had always thought that Rosco had lost respect for him, once he decided to run moonshine. Bo had convinced Luke, and they needed a little extra money for the farm. Rosco was the one that busted them and brought them in, saying they were lucky Sheriff Little didn't catch them. He didn't have to ask who idea it was. At the court hearing Bo knew Rosco was doing his best to get them off easy. He'd gotten the verdict to ten years probation. After that Rosco had given the Dukes the cold shoulder. Bo thought he understood. All that talk the previous year, probably made it feel wasted, enough for Rosco to give up watching out for 'im all completely. Little did Bo know that was partly it. Once Bo hit 18, he was legally an adult and he'd soon be causing more trouble like Joe had. And Bo did cause trouble but he didn't mean too. But still he was beginning to remind Rosco of Joe more and more. He had to sever all ties with the Dukes now before one could hurt him again. He could see Bo headed down that path, and if he wasn't close to the Dukes, he would never be hurt by one again. This was the last straw. He thought he could trust a Duke again, that Bo was different. He had been wrong. Those no good Dukes always had to get into trouble and drag him into it. _Never again._ But he always cared about the Dukes no matter how much he tried, though he pulled the lowest down things off with Boss, he didn't want any harm to come to them. In the long run they were still his friends even though he didn't want to admit it.

Soon after folks had said he lost his mind that he'd lost it slowly after losing his pension. He knew what they said behind his back. And they'd say he had half a mind. Maybe he did. He just shut off half his brain, not using it. Maybe he shut it off for too long he'd forgotten how to use it. He turned it back on when he needed to. Sure it came back to him time and again but he'd just shut it back off.

He had Maryanne so now he wouldn't think. But when the sleepless nights came, or whenever he was alone, all the wires and gears would turn on again. He would have difficulty shutting it off. She gone and awakened something in him, and he didn't know if he could handle it. He'd been alone for so long he had come to think he deserved it. He didn't disserve anything good. He was a broken man, finally defeated, defeated by his emotions, not by what he'd seen over all his years of being an officer of the law. He had trouble shaking the thoughts, struggling to keep his emotions in check. And eventually, sure enough the next day he'd be back to his….whatever you want to call it, usual behavior (to other folks.) It took him a short time to figure out what she had awakened. She had wakened the part of him he abandoned. The honest lawman in him had been reawakened and was ashamed at what he done. Who was he anymore? He'd been trying to hide like a coward. He had been thinkin maybe it wouldn't be bad if he was honest for once in awhile. But it pained him, toying with his emotions he never dealt with before. He always kept them bottled up inside. Part of him wanted to go back the way things were, when they first started out. But then that's when his uncovered emotions stated taking a toll on him. It took an effort to rebury them.

What was he thinkin that he could return to his old ways? That part of him was dead and buried a thousand times over. He couldn't make up for that with his good doing. He decided that the honest lawman in him was dead and he had just imagined it. Folks were probably right, maybe he had lost it. He tended not to dwell on it for other folk's sake. He'd shut off his mind again when he was around other folks. Growing up folks still had called him, "not that bright or said he had half a mind sometimes." Maybe back then he shut it off but for a different reason, like he refused to see the bad in people. The Dukes, they were good boys. After Joe betrayed him, after Joe and Lee died, after he lost his pension, he just wanted to shut the pain out. His life had goon so haywire that he shut out the part that made him think of all turmoil he stuck himself into. He replaced it with carelessness, and acting like a child. It was a good way to hide the pain, and he didn't have to think about it. He's just makin his way the only way he knows how too.

_**Remember when Bo and Luke drove the General into the pond and everyone thought they were dead? Well it was more harder on Uncle Jesse and Rosco than anybody else. They thought tragedy struck the Dukes again. **_

Jesse and Rosco sat at the table in the Boars Nest. The same manner they had been years earlier. Rosco moved to put his hand on Jesse's like he had done, but he stopped himself. (In the episode The Ghost of the General Lee from season 2, watch closely at Rosco's hands.) Jesse placed his hand on his instead.

1981

The General Lee goes into the Pond.

"Get 'em Enos." It wasn't his usual cheerful tone.

Enos jumped into the Pond. After a few seconds he came back up.

Rosco ran straight to his patrol car and picked up the CB, hoping he wouldn't be late this time. "This is Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane; I want you to get an ambulance and a wrecker out at Old River Road." He said all this with a serious voice. "The Duke Boys done gone in the pond." The last words of his sentence, he was choked up, on the verge of tears.

When Enos couldn't find Bo and Luke, he asked Rosco to help him look, Rosco couldn't. He couldn't swim. Rosco felt helpless again.

"I can't Enos. I can't swim." Rosco looked up at the sky, thinking, "Not again, why didya have to go on and do this to me again?" Instead he said out loud, "Damn." He tried to be brave for Enos, but he couldn't help it. "those boys." His voice started cracking, "Why'd they have to do that?"

_**Somethin' like that was bound to happen. But Rosco thought like we all woulda thought, nothing that bad could ever happen again. **_

He put his arms out as if to ask why again. But it was more directed to God than to Enos. He turned his back and walked back up the hill. He needed to prepare himself if he had to break tragic news to Jesse Duke again.

_Later that same day_

Rosco drove up to the Duke farm on Mill Road. Just to his luck, Jesse Duke was outside feeding the chickens. Rosco approached the Duke patriarch.

"Hello there Sheriff." Jesse greeted him casually, not like they were friends.

Where had they gone wrong? Rosco asked himself. He knew it was because him and Boss always setting the boys up. But did Jesse always have to treat him like this? Was he still upset about the watch? How could Jesse blame him for that?

"Jesse I want ye te know I didn't have anything to do with framing the boys with the watch." Rosco had his hat close to his chest. His black cowboy hat always made him feel comfortable. Joe and Lea had bought it for him when he had come back from the police academy, and officially became a police officer. It was the one thing that held them close to him. And the events of the past day had brought back their memory. He wouldn't frame the boys, not when they were dead. Well, they had thought they were dead. He had taken no part in the whole watch ordeal. He waited for Jesse's answer, watching as Jesse reached into the tin bucket he was carrying, throwing bird seed on the ground.

Jesse looked back at the Sheriff, pondering if he was telling the truth or not. Rosco had done so many low down things involved with J.D. But he half believed him. "I believe ye Rosco."

Jesse's answer was simple, that it made Rosco think a second. They made eye contact. The Dukes eyes seemed to be accusing. Rosco had to look away. Jesse got back to feeding the chickens.

When was he gonna be worthy of Jesse's forgiveness? _Never._ A voice in his mind told him. _If I never talk to him. _"Jesse." Rosco, said taking a step forward, following Jesse. He tried shooing a few chickens that had gathered on the ground in front of him. "I need to talk to ye."

"We've been talkin'" Jesse said. He threw some more bird feed on the ground.

"I didn't do it…..because Joe and Lee." When they had thought Bo and Luke went into the pond, it reminded him of the day they died. He was too depressed. And it wouldn't be right to do that to the dead. The dead can't talk back.

"Don't use their names." Jesse said in a hushed tone and looked toward the house. Daisy or the boys could be watching. He looked back at the lawman.

Rosco nodded to him. "I thought about them…..and with the boys…" He followed Jesse to the front door.

"I know Rosco." Jesse placed the tin bucket inside. When would Rosco figure out this wasn't about Joe and Lee? He let J.D. frame his boys for the watch. A few chickens came over where Jesse had dropped some bird seed. One chicken stood alone, trying to edge into the flock. "Go on, get in there Maudette." Jesse shouted at the lagging chicken.

Rosco turned to walk back to his patrol car but then turned back around. "Jesse."

_What was it now? _Jesse already knew Rosco was apologizing.

"I just want things to be right between us."

"It is, Rosco." Jesse didn't know if things ever would, as long as Rosco and Boss kept framing Bo and Luke.

Rosco stood there, knowing it was Jesse's polite way of saying, get lost. Things wouldn't be right.

He had to go on framin the boys because that's how things were. He didn't care if Boss succeeded, (he never did.) at least he got to chase the boys, which got him into this situation in the first place.

Rosco left, just as Daisy came out of the farm house.

"What was Rosco doing here?" She asked Uncle Jesse, watching the patrol car drive away. "He wasn't here to set the boys up on a trump charge, after all this trouble….." After they all thought Bo and Luke were dead. She wouldn't put it past Rosco.

"No." Her Uncle said. "He was just out here to talk about what happened." He looked at her.

"He didn't always used to be like that Uncle Jesse?" She had heard that he never always used to be crooked.

"He was a legitimate law man back in the day… ..a good friend too."

"You and Rosco were friends?"

"You could say that." He was more of Joe's friend.

"Deborah Mae said he used to be the most sweetest man." It was hard to picture Rosco that way. Deborah Mae used to work at the Boars Nest back when it was the Hazzard Lodge. She used to wait on Rosco all the time. And she had no clue what happened to Rosco either. If anyone new the real reason it would be her Uncle. "What happened to him Uncle Jesse?"

"Life happened, darlin'" Some have it rough than others and it changes them. Some can handle it and some can't. Rosco happened to be one who couldn't handle it. "Sometimes it changes them for the better and sometimes it changes them for the worst." Rosco could've ended up a lot worse. Though he couldn't handle it, he dealt with it his own way. Turning to corruption was his way of covering his guilt, his past. Jesse wouldn't intrude unless his boys were in serious danger.

"He still shouldn't take it out on us." Daisy said.

_No he shouldn't._ Jesse agreed. But he wouldn't have anyone to take it out on.

He went into the house, Daisy behind him. Daisy wouldn't know exactly what it was that caused Rosco to change. She heard that it had been his pension but there had to be more for one person to fall so far. If it had to be that big to cover up. She wouldn't find out until several years later.

Present Day

July 14th, 1985

Rosco was in the Woodsburough cemetery, just outside of Hazzard. He took off his hat with one hand and wiped his brow. For a fifty-three year old man he suddenly felt eighty, with all that guilt he held for all those years starting to pour out again.

Daisy walked up the path way. From a distance she sees someone standing over a grave. She tries to make the person out. It was an older man. He held a black cowboy hat in his hand and yellow daisy's in the other. He sets them down on the grave. She spots a police patrol car. There was no questioning who the patrol car belonged to. On the side it read Hazzard County Sheriff.

_**What do you think Daisy's thinkin' now? Wait till she gets an explanation. For someone who knows that their parents died in a car crash and didn't know why, wouldn't this make you want to find out?**_

Her thoughts were confirmed about who it could only be. But what was Rosco doin' here?

She was going to call out to him but she decided to leave him be. She made sure he didn't see her. As he headed toward his patrol car, Daisy got off the path and ducked behind a big tombstone. It was tall enough to conceal herself in a crouching position. _**Now why'd all this have to go and get more complicated? **_

She waited till the police car was out of sight and she could no longer hear the engine.

She came out from behind the tombstone and went to where her parents were buried. When she got there she noticed Rosco had left the daisies on her mother's grave. But why only her mother's? **I**_** guess if it didn't there'd be no story to tell now would there? **_


	7. Daisy Coltrane

Disclaimer: I do not own any Dukes of Hazzard characters or anything associated with the T.V. series. I do own my own characters. Any resemblances, or name sakes, given to such characters, living or dead are coincidental.

Chapter 7: Daisy Coltrane

With Maryanne un-corrupting his favorite Sheriff, Boss thinks he'll fum up his plans. He digs into Rosco's past and gets everyone thinkin' he might be Daisy's father. And Rosco makes a shocking confession that makes it possible. Is Daisy a Coltrane or a Duke?

"Unhand my daughter, you ungrateful pennywhistle." Rosco said to the hit man.

"Your daughter?' He looked from Rosco to Daisy as if he couldn't believe it.

**_What he just said. I didn't know Rosco had a daughter. Why do I have a strange feelin' he's talkin' about Daisy? Otherwise they wouldn't be in this situation. Man I just can't stand it to see Daisy in danger. And with only Rosco being her only chance of escape, I think it doesn't look that promising. _**

_20 hours earlier_

Rosco stopped his patrol car just inches in front of the Hazzard County Line. Flash came over and laid her head in his lap. She whined. Rosco stroked her. "We got to go back, girl. They'll start worryin' about us."

The basset hound looked up at her master with sad eyes. He was sad, so she was sad too. "I know, Flash. But I'll be alright, I always am. Next minute before you know it, I'll be chasin' those Dukes into next week." He didn't add his cheerful Kew, Kew, as he usually did. "Maybe not today." He moved Flash back onto the passenger seat. She curled up in a little ball, still looking at him sadly.

**_Have you ever heard that a dog can sense exactly how you feel? Maybe that's why they call 'em man's best friend. _**

Rosco went to Boss's office at the Boar's Nest.

"I don't know a lot about you Rosco. And I've done some…. Might I point out that Daisy looks kinda like your fat sister Lulu but she's skinny."

"She's not fat, she's just big boned." **_Rosco was defending his sister. That was new. There had been a few changes about him lately. Recently Boss hadn't been liking the changes. And he planned to put a stop to it. And with Maryanne visiting her mother with Sandy May, he didn't have to worry about her messing up his plan. He only had to worry about the Duke boys._**

"Rosco ever since you married that wife of yours, you've been getting on my nerves."

"I thought I always got on your nerves." Rosco always knew he did. He could get on just about anyone's nerves.

"Ooh, you know what I mean. You've become more of a nuscense. "

"What did you want to talk about?" Rosco asked.

"You were friends of the Duke family?" This had surprised Boss. But he pretended not to be surprised now. Maybe he didn't know much about Rosco after all. He'd get to the bottom of why Rosco turned against the Dukes. What else had Rosco not told him?

"Yes. Like you were with Jesse." Rosco had been friends with Jesse as well, but not as close as Boss had been with Jesse. After Jesse's brother died Rosco would not let him in.

"Well, I'm glad we're getting somewhere."

"You mentioned Daisy…" He didn't want her involved in this, wherever this was headed.

"I recall you were practically close with her mother. You were close friends with her." A woman, a woman had ended his relationship with the Dukes, and a broken promise. And it was just like a Duke. Boss couldn't blame Rosco. He was sorry about what he was about to do. He couldn't let his career be put on the line. Rosco certainly would. But folks would come to their senses. He didn't believe that Rosco could be Daisy's father. He'd have this all cleared over when he needed to.

But his actions made him think about his friendship with Rosco. How close really where they, if he kept this? He probably couldn't handle it, that he told nobody. "Very close friends in fact." Boss added.

"So what if I was friends with Lea Shields? Everyone knew that she went to me when she needed help." When anyone talked about Lea it struck a nerve. No one caught on to their affair, because they had broken it off a year before Daisy was born. Lea had told him that she thought she might be theirs.

"Of course a woman needing help and spending that much time with a woman. You just might be…..her father." Boss didn't really believe it as he said it.

Rosco knew someone would found out sooner or later. He'd never thought about it in years. When Daisy had always shuck and jived him like Enos, it never worked on him. Because he respected her and plus there was the possibility that she was his daughter. Nobody knew, except him. A sense of dread washed over him because now somebody else knew. But that wasn't the only reason. His career would be put on the line. He wasn't ready for the shame and humiliation from folks.

Hazzard was a God fearing town; over half of them wouldn't take kindly to the news. The Dukes would find another reason to dislike him. He would have betrayed Jesse the millionth time. Maybe that was an exaggeration. He let him down. He let everyone down.

"If I'm….That means Enos is my son in-law."

"Hello, Daddy." Enos said happy at the news. He had just appeared in the doorway at Boss's words. Enos saw the look on Rosco's face. There wasn't happiness there. It was a look of disappointment.

Rosco suddenly felt like he's going to faint.

Enos pulled up a chair and helps Rosco into it. "You better sit down Sheriff."

Not a lot of people would take it as nicely as Enos. If the Dukes found out they'd probably hate him even more. And Enos never could keep him mouth shut.

Enos was dismissed from the room.

"I'm not her father Boss. " Rosco said, sitting forward in the chair. He was sure of it.

"According to one Mrs. Joey Duke, you might be."

"But….she's dead." Rosco was thankful that he was sitting down. "How'd ye know somethin' like that?"

"Her last journal entry she wrote, before she died." Rosco's heart sank as Boss took out a leather journal. He'd seen that journal once.

She had been writing in it, in bed lying on her stomach, pen between her teeth. He came into the room and wrapped his arms around her as he climbed onto the bed, hovering over her. She giggled "Rosco." She took the pen out of her mouth and he kissed her on the check. She playfully shoved him. He moved and got off the bed. Lea put the pen and journal on the nightstand. She paused and then snatched both the pen and journal and put it in the drawer. She turned around, leaning back on the bed, resting on her elbows. He shook the memory away.

"Where'd you get that? That's private." He tried to reach for it but Boss moved his arm back. Rosco's hand closed around air.

"You think I don't know that. Of course it is, otherwise I wouldn't have it." Boss smiled like the cat that ate the canary.

**_Relax folks; I'm sure there's nothing in there about that. Lea and Rosco did spend a lot of time together while she was having doubts about marryin' Joe. She was torn between two men, like Rosco was torn between chosin the girl he loved or losin' his best friend._**

_May 1952_

"You broke a promise to Rosco, Joe. I don't know if I can marry a man that can't keep a promise." Lee said after Joe told her what he promised two years ago.

"You think Rosco can?"

"Yes I do, because he always listened to me when I needed someone to talk to. He's my best friend too not just yours."

"I'm starting to wonder if Rosco is more than a friend Lee Ann."

"So what if he is?"

"What do you see in him anyway?" He wasn't trying to talk bad about Rosco. It was just that he felt like he was losing Lee. It was still early for her to change her mind about marrying him. She could still choose Rosco.

"He cares." He had been nice to her when she and her parents moved to Hazzard when she was twelve. The other boys and girls always made fun of her yankee accent even Joe, but not Rosco. He was always polite to her. He was the only friend she had growing up. He had always been nervous around her. She always thought it was cute. When she got into high school the others still made fun of her. Then untill Junior year, Joe started taking an interest in her. Lea started going out with Joe a few times but it was nothing really serious. When she'd ask him to dances he wouldn't go, so she would go with Rosco. She had her first slow dance with Rosco and almost her first kiss. But she had to stop herself, telling him it wouldn't be fair to Joe and she had run out of the gym. She should have kissed him. All those times she was having trouble or was scared she'd go to Rosco for help and he'd listen. Joe was the opposite he listened sometimes but he was so carless, whereas Rosco listened all the time. Now that she was going to marry Joe, (those who had made fun of her in the past), their prejudice had ceased. But was it really worth it? She wondered what had made her choose Joe. She was starting to have doubts.

"Lee..."_ I care too._ He didn't want to lose her. He was jealous. "He's got half a brain."

"He might have half a brain but he's more than half the man you are Joseph Duke!" She storms out of the Duke Farm house.

She picks up the end of her dress and runs down the road.

Jesse walked into the living room. "What happened?" He asked his brother.

Lee didn't stop running until she got to the Coltrane house. She opened up the screen and pounded on the door.

As soon as Rosco opened it she threw herself into his arms, sobbing.

"Lee Ann…."

"Please just let me inside."

**_Like a good friend that he was, he let her in. _**

_Present day, July 15 th, 1985_

Daisy entered the booking room where Enos was.

"Anyone gonna tell me what's goin' on round here? "

"What'd ya mean Daisy?" Enos asked.

"It seems like people are whispering behind my back. I reckon some of them aren't very nice things either by the nasty looks some keep givin' me."

"Sheriff might be your dad. That's what Boss said, and everyone else is sayin'

"Then they're wrong."

That night after dinner, Rosco went to the Duke farm. He wanted to talk to Daisy. The Dukes were shocked. What could he possibly want with Daisy?

Jesse knew it had to be about the anniversary. It was two days away. "Let 'im talk to her." He told the boys. Bo and Luke decided to go get the chores before it got dark.

"We'll be outside doin' the chores if you need us." Luke said, more to Daisy.

"We best get 'em done before dark." Bo said.

They left the farm house. Uncle Jesse left the kitchen to leave Daisy and Rosco to talk.

"What did you want to talk to me about?"Daisy asked Rosco. As soon as the words were out of her mouth she sensed something was wrong. Looking at Rosco, it was as if she wasn't looking at the Rosco she knew. It was like looking at a stranger.

"I know the anniversary of your parent's…." He couldn't say death. "Is coming up…I thought I'd stop by…."

"You never stopped by once on their anniversary." Daisy said. She made it sound like they were talking about her parents wedding anniversary. Even though she hadn't known her parents it still hurt. She straightened the vase of yellow daisies on the table. Why would he bother to come? Why would that change now?

She didn't know that he did once stop by, on the one year anniversary of their deaths.

"I came by because I wanted you to know….."

"Know what?"

What was he going to say to her? He didn't exactly know what he wanted her to know. She didn't even know that her father and him were friends. He decided he'd start with that.

The Sheriff sighed preparing himself for what he had to say. "I used to be friends with Joe, like Boss was friends with your Uncle Jesse."

"What happened between you two that made you stop bein' friends?" She noticed his tone, indicating that something had happened between him and her father. "Uncle Jesse has his reasons with Boss." She wanted to know the reason why they had stopped being friends. Did it have to do with how he treated her cousins?

"Are you tellin' me that I ain't got no reason? I did have a reason and I still do." He found himself blaming Joe Duke, other than himself. If he hadn't broke his promise. He and Lea would still be alive.

"Rosco…." She paused to find the right words. "I saw you put flowers on my ma's grave. Why only hers?" She brought her voice down low to change the mood. She didn't want to argue with Rosco.

"We both liked your mother and we both promised neither one of us would marry her. But he broke that promise." He didn't just like Lee; he loved her, more than anything in the world. He couldn't tell Daisy that. He turned to leave but what Daisy said stopped him.

"Is that why you don't like us so much?" Daisy asked. How could he blame something on all the Dukes for one Duke's wrong? He had strong feelings for her mother, maybe even loved her. She could tell. He didn't have to straight out and tell her, even if he didn't want to. She understood. She was a girl. But what she didn't understand was why he took it out on Bo, and Luke, and Uncle Jesse. But he always had seemed to look out for her.

"I held a grudge all because of some girl." He tried not to think about it anymore. He didn't want Daisy to see how much he cared.

"That girl was my mama. " Daisy reminded him. "The only thing that matters Rosco is that you both cared about her." She no longer cared about the reason for his actions on the Dukes.

"Daisy I gotta tell you somethin…you might hate me for it but I deserve it…" The rest of the Dukes already hated him. He betrayed all of them in turn. Just because of Joseph Duke. One more Duke hating him was nothing.

"Rosco, what are you rambling about?" She could never hate him. He might go around trying to frame her cousins or her Uncle but he was one of the sweetest men in Hazzard, next to Enos. Something just probably happened to Rosco in the past that made him how he was now. She didn't hold it against him, except for the times he went too far.

He took off his hat, holding it close to his heart. "I loved your ma very much. She'd turned to me if she was ever in trouble."

Daisy smiled. He really was an ol' softy. He just didn't show it.

"You see before your father broke his promise to me, they were going through a rough patch and she came to me about it."

Daisy's smile fell. She'd heard stories Uncle Jesse told here. They were a happy couple, and so much in love.

Maybe their marriage was just too good to be true. Daisy thought. No one is perfect. "They were fighting? What about?"

"I don't know." Rosco said. "She…. never told me." The answer would probably be in Lee's diary somewhere. But he wouldn't snoop around Boss's office just to get it. Even in death, he respected her privacy. Still he had to tell Daisy one way or another. He couldn't live with not telling her for the rest of his life. If she hated him at least he'd get rid of one thing weighing on his chest. "We both loved each other Daisy and….we were both mad at your pa…we spent a lot of...adult time together...doing...adult things." His first time had been with Lee. She told him she didn't know if she was marrying the right person, and that she loved him too. But she didn't know who she truly loved, who she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. The second time had been in 1960. They were both mad at Joe. She had walked out on him again. Their marriage had been going through a rough patch. But then she told Rosco that their kiss could never happen again. And it was Joe she loved, she was sure.

A year later, in May of 1961, Daisy was born. It never crossed his mind that Daisy could be his. Lee had told him she thought Daisy's was his but Rosco never but too much thought to it, shaking away the notion.

"You mean….you might be my father?" Daisy asked. "And what Boss was sayin' wasn't just to get you out of his business?" She couldn't really see the resemblance. She did look more like her mother. But she didn't have her mother's eyes or her father's. Joe's had been a more grayish blue. She didn't really believe Rosco until he answered her.

"Mmm hmm yep." He couldn't say anything else.

Daisy didn't know what to say. A mixture of motions clouded her mind. Doubt, that her mother would do that, awe, that she might have a parent that was still alive, anger, that he never once cared if she was his daughter or not, and confusion, of the overlay of emotions. She felt the urge to punish him. She snatched his hat from his hand, smacking him on the arm with it instead of her fist. She let it fall to the floor. "Oh." She huffed, turning on her heels angrily. She stormed out of the room.

Bo and Luke saw Rosco take off in his patrol car rather fast. Bo said, "Hey, Rosco…." as he drove past them. He didn't bother to stay and give them some excuse so he could give them a ticket.

"Somethin's up." Luke said to Bo.

"He didn't even stop to give us a ticket." Bo replied, sensing something else was up also.

**_I think something's up too. And I have a bad feeling I know what it is. _**

Daisy told Uncle Jesse about what Rosco had talked about. "I can't believe ma would do that."

"They were young Daisy. Lee didn't know what she wanted yet." Jesse tried to handle the situation the best he could. Honestly it came to no surprise to Jesse. Folks cheated all the time. Affairs happened, just not as commonly back in Jesse's day.

"That didn't give them any excuse. It was a sin Uncle Jesse." She hated the thought that she could have possibly been born out of sin and anger.

"We should forgive like the Lord forgives." Jesse recalled his brother saying at one point that it seemed like Daisy wasn't even his. She acted more like Lee as well as looked like her. "Even if he is your real daddy, you think no less of him. We all make mistakes and we all think differently. Dukes are not the ones to hold grudges, Coltrane's maybe…" He was interrupted by the back door swinging shut.

Bo and Luke entered the farm house. They walked through the kitchen into the living room.

"Y'all tell us what's goin' on?" Bo asked.

"Rosco sure left like he was in a hurry." Luke said. It wasn't like him to take off and not seek an opportunity to catch them.

"Rosco might be my father." Daisy said heatedly. She stormed out of the farm house.

"That's what we've been hearin' Luke said. "We figured it was Boss's way of trying to get Rosco under control. He's changed a lot since he met Maryanne. And it was for the best of it. "

"Yeah, he's been nice to us a lot lately…" Bo said.

"Well nicer." Luke added.

"Yeah. " Bo smiled.

Luke shook his head, a smile on his face. The smile vanished when he heard Uncle Jesse's change in voice.

"Oh no, not in time for the anniversary!" **_He hoped whatever J.D. was pullin' was only coincidental. He didn't know how much more quilt Rosco could take. If he could get Daisy and Rosco to stay away from each other for awhile till she vented her anger. He figured that's what Jo and Lea would've wanted._** Rosco you idjit, what have you gotten yourself into now? Jesse couldn't help but think.

"What anniversary?" Luke asked.

**_So Jesse told the boys the news. They seemed more forgiving than Daisy. But would that changed if they heard the next bit? You know the part where Rosco blamed himself for the deaths of two Dukes?_**

Bo and Luke walk outside.

"You remember them, don't you Luke?" She was standing next to Uncle Jesse's truck.

"Course I do. I remember them a little bit." When they died he had been nine. He remembered them briefly. They would come to the farm only on holidays with Daisy.

"I don't remember them at all." She stared blankly at the goats and chickens.

"Me neither." Bo said. He had only been three at the time.

She turned back to Bo and Luke. "Rosco can't be my father, can he?" It was still a shock to her. But it sort of made sense, that he treated her differently from the boys. Not as often would they use her in their schemes. When she was she was never put into real danger. Once when she had been speeding Rosco had given her a warning instead of a ticket, like he would have gave the boys. She always thought it was because she was a girl or seeing she was the town flirt the fellas were extra nice to her. The possibility of Rosco being her father scared her. What would people think? She already had gotten an idea of it back in town earlier.

"Daisy, even if you are a Coltrane, you'll always still be a Duke." Bo said. "It's not just blood that makes you family."

"I'm tired of all the what ifs. I want to find out if I am or not." She didn't know what to do. But it was best to find out. It would keep bugging her.

"Are you sure?" Luke asked her.

"When I'm ready I will be." She wasn't quite ready yet.

**_At that exact moment, a criminal, Ricky Tyler, and his two lackeys, who just got out of prison, were plotting revenge, against Rosco. Rosco had put him behind bars twenty years ago._**

"I want that Sheriff deader than a door nail." Tyler was saying to his men.

**_I wouldn't want to be in Rosco's shoes right now._**

_July 16th, 1985_

**_Rosco and Enos were chasing the Dukes in the General Lee. But like always the General Lee outran them._**

Instead of speeding up, Rosco's patrol car slowly pulled over at the side of the road. Enos, thinking something was wrong, pulled over too.

Enos got out of his patrol car, being prepared to get yelled at again as the Sheriff got out of his.

"Is there something wrong Sheriff?" Enos asked, coming over to him.

"No, Enos. I guess my heart just ain't in it today." He put a hand on the young deputy's shoulder and patted it.

Enos caught the sight of the Sheriff. He looked worn out, drained after the whole situation. His eyes held a mixture of anger, sadness, fear and even, most noticeable, grief.

Enos wondered how one person could feel all those emotions all at once, and still be standing.

His heart hadn't been in anything all day. Sheriff wasn't acting like himself. He must've noticed Enos's concern.

"I'm alright Enos. Go on…on ahead." His superior officer said to him.

Enos didn't need to be told again. "Yes, Sir."

Cooter came along, seeing Rosco's patrol car parked on the side of the road, he thought it had broken down or something. Rosco was sitting in his patrol car. He slowly headed toward Rosco. Something didn't set right with Cooter, the way Rosco stared blankly out the window of his patrol car. Cooter honked his horn to get his attention. It made Rosco jump. He turned his head to look at Cooter. Cooter's eyes caught his, for a second Rosco looked like he was a deer in the headlights.

"Broke down?" Cooter asked him, pulling alongside the patrol car as Rosco climbed out of it.

"No, I...just pulled over to enjoy the country side."

Cooter couldn't tell if he was joking. He was sure acting weird, then again with the anniversary coming up. He wondered why it didn't really start to affect him until now.

Things affected people in different ways. Cooter thought. He decided on whether or not he should leave the Sheriff alone with his grief. He finally decided that it was for the best to stay out of Rosco's business.

Rosco sat his hat on the hood of his patrol car, leaning against the hood, his hands placed on the hat. He watched Cooter drive away. Rosco slammed his fist down on the hood of the patrol car as hard as he could, unaware that the mechanic had seen him.

Bo and Luke were visiting Cooter at his garage.

"Hey, what's wrong with Rosco? He's barely been chasin' us." Luke said. There had been no familiar sight of his patrol car tailing them. It was still parked outside the police station. "He's only chased us once all week."

"I'd say that's the slightest bit abnormal." Bo said.

**_Bo was actually starting to worry about him. It was probably because the anniversary he was acting funny. But why was it affecting him now? He never saw him on the days of the anniversary, come to think of it. He was perhaps hiding something. Bo didn't want to mention it to Luke in front of Cooter. _**

Cooter looked up from the hood of the car he was fixing. "Abnormal? When Rosco's barely chasin' ye or not waiting for ye at one of his speed traps, that's not abnormal. That's just straight up weird" **_He didn't want to tell the Dukes that he'd seen Rosco not acting quite like Rosco. He didn't want to startle them._**

"Since when have things been weird for us? " Bo said. **_Stranger things have happened in Hazzard._** "I think we're beyond weird and officially crossed over to the twilight zone."**_ Couldn't have described it better myself. _**

"You think it's got something to do with the anniversary?" Luke asked Bo. Or the fact that Boss was sayin' that he might be Daisy's father, which Luke thought was impossible.

"Might be." Cooter said. This got the boys attention. "That would be the day Daisy's parents….day they died."

"Yeah." Luke said. He was asking how Cooter would know about the anniversary. Other folks in Hazzard did, he supposed it got around. Cooter never had met Daisy's parents or Bo's and Luke's. Cooter was ten years older than Luke. He would have been eighteen around the time of their death.

"What I don't get is why Rosco would be that upset about it. He never acted like that before on this day." It had to be Boss's doing. Bo wouldn't be surprised.

"They used to be friends." Luke said to Bo. "Rosco and Daisy's parents."

Bo looked at Luke with a confused look.

"Well I'll be." Cooter said, taking off his hat. "I never knew that. The stories I've heard. He used to chase Joe and Lea like you two."

"What?" Bo tried to imagine. He slightly laughed.

"Bo." Luke said, warning him that he interrupted Cooter.

Bo looked at Luke and cleared his throat. "Sorry, right."

"I was just startin' out as a mechanic…." Cooter continued but stopped. Then his voice took on a sadder tone. "I heard Rosco was there."

"There where?" Bo was trying to get at what Cooter was trying to say.

"Chasin' 'em as usual. J.J. and Lee almost got hit by a timber truck. They tried to avoid it but they got run off the road and hit a ditch." Cooter said all this sympathetically. What Rosco must've gone through, seeing his friends, if he was there? No one else in town knew.

"Cooter, we've done that load of times." Bo said. They had been run off the road on several occasions and had hit a ditch. Why could his aunt and Uncle's accident been any different?

Cooter shrugged. "Maybe somethin' distracted 'em. Lee was drivin' at the time. Not that it makes a difference."

"Was Rosco there?" Bo asked. "Did he…." He wanted to say, "did he see it happen?" He tried to picture in his mind what it was like to find someone you knew dead. He felt sympathetic toward Rosco, but at the same time a fire was burning in his heart and not a pleasant one.

"I don't know Bo." Cooter said. He'd only heard Jesse mention somethin' about a patrol car being on the scene and Cooter had immediately thought Rosco. Picking up Joe and Lea's jeep had been his first tow. And he hadn't seen Rosco or his patrol car anywhere near that day. "My best bets on you asking him yourself."

**_Uh oh….Bo's gettin' the same look on his face as Daisy did after what Rosco told her. Now ya'll don't go jumpin' to conclusions before we get back._**

Bo entered the Sheriff's department, no stormed into the Sheriff's department. Luke was close on his trail. But the older Duke Cousin's demeanor was cool and calm.

Rosco was talking to Enos who sat at the booking desk. Flash was lying on the desk.

Rosco held a few slips of paper in his hand.

"Rosco, I need to talk to you." Bo said.

"Not right, now." Rosco said without turning around. "I'm busy filing these tickets." He patted Flash on the head. "Who's a good Flash?" Flash barked in response. "Be a good girl until I get back." He started to head back to his office.

"You saw them go into the ditch didn't ye?" The words make Rosco stop dead, but he didn't turn around.

What was so bad that Rosco could not turn around and face Bo? Luke was sort of relived that he didn't turn around. He didn't want to see whatever was there in the Sheriff's eyes.

Rosco closed his eyes tightly as if someone had hit him, and he was waiting for the next blow. So he found out. He could feel the burning hatred from Bo. Did he hate him or was it because he didn't do what he should have done?

"Why, why didn't ye pull 'em over and give 'em a ticket?" Bo's voice slightly cracked. "Did ye ever think about them when you were chasin' us?" Suddenly his voice filled with anger again. "Can you afford two more Dukes to die?"

Luke saw the Sheriff's body stiffen. He stepped up beside his cousin. "Easy, now Bo." Luke whispered.

"Luke how can you be ok with this?" Bo asked, shocked at his cousin. All those times they had had those close calls.

Rosco turned around suddenly. "If I could turn back the clock I would." The tone in his voice startled the Dukes, even poor Enos. His harsh tone chilled the Dukes to the bone. Enos went ridged in his chair. Flash whined.

"I…couldn't….." The Sheriff's blue eyes filled with tears now. "I couldn't do anything." He looked down at the ground. He held back the tears, hoping they hadn't seen. "Now you Duke boys please just leave me alone?" His voice was low, it didn't sound like him at all. He turned toward his office without looking at them again.

Luke and Bo swore they could hear a faint sob coming from Rosco's direction as he headed toward his office.

He got to his office just in time as the tears fell. He saw the first two fall onto his black boots, before his vision was blurred by them. He shut his office door behind him and leaned his back against it. He felt like shutting himself off from the world. He wanted nothing more to disappear, and never lay eyes on a Duke again. They always made him miserable. Though he always felt he deserved being made miserable, and the blame, it tore him apart to hear it.

"Let it go Bo." Luke said to his cousin. Bo stared at Rosco's office door.

_What have I done?_ Bo asked himself. Now he felt miserable.

"He's guilty about it enough as it is."

"How…" He wanted to know how Luke known.

"Come on. He's been through heck." They left the Sheriff's department. They stopped outside the building.

"I didn't realize Luke." Bo said guiltily, his own voice shaking. "I… can't believe I just flew off the handle like that." He just gone and made Rosco feel a thousand times worse than he already was. "I can't even imagine how...Daisy must feel." Thinking of his cousin made his own eyes tear up. "If you weren't with me in there, I probably woulda strangled him."

"It's not his fault Bo." Luke assured him. "Rosco couldn't have done anything to prevent it."

"All those times….that never happened to us." Bo still wondered why they hadn't met the same fate as their aunt and uncle yet.

"I guess we're just better drivers than they were." Luke said, thinking it the only explanation. "Rosco's had some pretty close calls himself."

"Yeah." Bo smiled at the memories. "Chasin' after us. Gonna get himself killed instead one of these days." He whipped his eyes with his shirt sleeve. He started thinking about something else. "He still never thought about 'em."

"He probably just blocked it out." Luke said. He'd seen marines block out traumatic events. But that didn't really apply to Rosco. He probably just found a way to not think about it when he was chasing him and Bo.

"We got to check on him Luke." Bo said, not knowing what Rosco could do with the state he's in.

"Not just yet. We'll wait a few minutes. He won't like talking to us. But we'll have to try to talk to him; make sure doesn't do anything crazy." Crazy as what? Luke asked himself. Crazy like trying to kill himself? No Rosco wouldn't. He was afraid of his own shadow.

"No, we got to now. He can't wait."

Luke followed his cousin back into the building without any argument.

"He doesn't want to see ye fellas." Enos said getting up from the booking desk. He had tried to get the Sheriff out of his office but he refused. He had told him "Go away, Enos." And told him to keep an eye out of the Dukes he didn't want to see the likes of them. When he had told Enos to go away his voice had cracked. But when he spoke of the Dukes his voice was filled with dislike.

"You gotta let us check on 'im Enos." Enos only nodded to the dark haired Duke. Possum on a gum bush. The Sheriff was falling to pieces in there. And if anyone could talk to him it was Bo and Luke. They had a way with talking to folks. Thanks to their Uncle Jesse's upbringing.

There was a knock on his door. Rosco sat at his desk, his hands on the side of his head, looking down at the desk. "I told ye to go away Enos."

"It's not Enos." Said a different familiar voice. "It's Luke and Bo."

Luke waited for a response but he got none. He tried again with a new aproach. "Rosco, can we talk to you?"

"Go away." Rosco said. It was his usual tone.

"Well, come on, let's go." Luke said. They tried their best.

"Luke when did we let Rosco stop us? We can just walk right in."

"You read my mind cousin." Luke opened the door and entered the office, Bo behind him.

"Don't you know you are breaking and entering?" Rosco grabbed the arms of his chair to pull himself up.

"Rosco just let us talk to you." Luke said. His voice had a "we're gonna, if you like it or not." tone to it.

Rosco sat back down. He couldn't leave anyway. Bo and Luke were too close to the door. If he made for a run for it they would just try to stop him. He relaxed back in the chair.

Why? Why should I? I already know you blame me. "I don't want to talk to you." He looked away from them. He was acting his usual childish characteristic self again, Luke noted. He seemed to have recovered enough, or he was very good at hiding it.

"It's better to talk about it." Luke said.

"About what?" **_Luke knew that Rosco knew what he was talking about. Call it instinct or you can just tell that Rosco's a bad actor._** "If it's about one of your parking tickets I gave ye, you can fer…."

"I'm not mad at you Rosco." Bo cut him off. He really should know that. "I don't know what came over me. I guess I was just mad nobody told me what really happened to our Aunt and Uncle and I took it out on you. I'm sorry I made you feel bad."

Rosco finally sat up from his chair. "All you do is make me feel bad."

"Rosco, you know that's not true." Luke protested.

"It all started with one Duke and it won't end with another. Now git out of my office."

"The day they died, we know you were there." Luke said, trying to find the right words to make Rosco talk. "That you saw it happen. You called Uncle Jesse first."

Rosco sat down slowly in his chair. "He was always nice to me, your Uncle Jesse." His voice was low again. He stared blankly as if remembering something. He then shook his head and looked down at his desk. "I'm sorry." He rubbed his eyes. "I try not to remember."

"Is there anything we can do for ye?" Luke asked.

"Just….just keep Daisy away from me for awhile. She looks too much like her mother, I can't….I don't want her to see me like this."

"Ok, Bo and I'll try our best." Luke said. He and Bo left.

Later that evening Daisy arrived at Boar's Nest, ready to work second shift. She pulled up in Dixie and got out. She approached Rosco when she saw him.

**_So much for Bo and Luke trying to keep her away from Rosco, but I'm sure they tried. _**

He was just getting out of his patrol car. She tried not to sound angry. "Rosco." But her voice did sound angry.

He jumped as he turned around.

Good I got him scared outta his mind. She stopped herself, shaking her head. No I got to listen to what Uncle Jesse told me. I can't be mad at Rosco for his past mistakes.

"Daisy, what 're ye doin' here?"

No matter how hard she tried to mask her anger it shown through. "I work here."

"Ye didn't need to sneak up on me like that."

A fancy car pulled up right next to Rosco's car. Another car pulled up on the right, unseen.

"Rosco P. Coltrane?" The man that drove the fancy car asked as he got out.

"Yep, that's me." Rosco said without taking his eyes off Daisy. Then he turned toward the man. "How can I help ye?"

"You can help me by stop breathin' He reaches into his coat pocket.

"Now what's this all about?" Daisy stepped forward.

"This doesn't concern you, young lady." He motions her to stand aside.

"Do I know you?" Rosco asked. The man's voice slightly rang a bell.

"You should Sheriff. I sure remember you."

"You sorta look familiar."

"Remember, the ring in Atlanta twenty years ago. I was a big hit, and you helped out on it. "

**_I don't think he's talkin' about a ring you put on your finger folks._**

"The…..that….was twenty years ago. You're….."

"Ricky Tyler."

"Eng." Rosco recalled what Tyler threatened to do to him when he locked him up.

"I told you, I'd get ye Sheriff. But not right now."

"Oh, good." That was a relief. At least he had the decency to not kill someone in front of a lady.

"I like to do my killin' in remote places, where no one can find the bodies. You should know that Sheriff." He spoke the word, sheriff with so much venom.

Daisy tried to sneak off during their conversation so she could go and get help. One of the criminal's lackeys stopped her.

"Where you think you're goin' missy?"

"Who's she?" Ricky asks.

"I ain't anybody. And I don't know what all y'all's talkin' about."

"She's just a young girl." Rosco said. Even though he wasn't a father, his instincts as one kicked in. Maybe he was a father.

"Well, that's unfortunate. She's already seen our faces. We can't leave any witnesses." Tyler nodded to someone on the distance.

Two of Tyler's men grab Daisy.

"Now you let her go, now." Rosco took out his gun from its holster. Two other men come up from behind him.

Daisy tries to warn him. "Rosco."

One of them grabs his gun from him. The other one has a cloth in his hand. He puts it over Rosco's nose and mouth. It didn't take that long of a struggle. Rosco was unconscious.

Daisy breaks out of her capture's grips. The man who had taken Rosco's gun points it at her.

The one who knocked Rosco out was still holding onto him. He had the Sheriff under the arms and started dragging him toward the car that was parked on the other side of Rosco's Patrol car.

Daisy found herself being pulled toward the fancy one. She struggled all the more when she realized they were going in separate cars.

**_I wouldn't want to be caught in the middle of that, would you?_**

Daisy was brought into an abandoned barn, her arms tied. They brought in Rosco too, except his arms were tied behind his back. Then she saw a glint of metal. No, his hands were handcuffed behind his back with his own handcuffs.

Tyler held onto Daisy as they moved forward.

"Unhand my daughter, you ungrateful pennywhistle." He didn't know what made him say it, the words just came out.

"You're daughter?" Tyler looked from Rosco to Daisy. "You'd think I'd buy that so I'd spare her?" He unhands Daisy. One of his men grabs her in case she decides to make a run for it. Tyler walked over to Rosco. He looked into the lawman's deep blue eyes and couldn't wait until he saw the light fade from them. "I've been waiting twenty years, Sheriff."

"Then go on 'n give it to me." Rosco said.

"Rosco, don't." Daisy said. Did he want to provoke him?

Tyler brought back his fist and punched Rosco hard in the stomach. Rosco fell to the ground in a fettle position.

The breath left him. It felt like he was dyin' at first. There were certain areas, where if someone were to punch hard enough, it could mean certain death, or a long one, like Houdini's. Then he realized the wind had just been knocked out of him.

"You keep your hands off him." Daisy struggled in her captures grip. She wanted to run to Rosco's side. All the anger she had felt toward him evaporated completely.

It took a bit for him to catch his breath.

"Help him up." Tyler said to one of his men. Two men came over to Rosco. One forced him up roughly.

"You're gonna kill me, in front of her? " He was basically saying, do you have the gull.

"No, I'm not gonna kill you yet. I'm gonna have my fun first. You know what I'm gonna do to you? "

Rosco shook his head. He didn't want to know. He just wanted it to be quick and painless. No he had to make sure Daisy was alright. He couldn't give up on her. He would protect her if it was the last thing he did. It was his sworn duty to protect her as a citizen of Hazzard and, his best friends' last wish.

"You know how you locked me up and I had to await my fate? Well, I'm going to enjoy locking you up and watching you await your fate."

Tammy Lyn was working at the Boar's Nest, the same shift as Daisy. It was getting close to closing and Bo and Luke stopped by to see Daisy.

Luke climbed out of the General, spotting Rosco's patrol car. "Great, we're too late." **_He's sayin' that now but for the wrong thing._**

Bo and Luke walked into the Boar's Nest. Tammy Lyn was wipping down the bar. "If you're lookin' for Daisy fella's I'm sorry, she never showed up." Tammy Lyn told them.

"Her jeep is still here." Bo said. It wasn't like Daisy to just leave her job.

"And we saw Rosco's patrol car outside." Luke said.

"He ain't here either." Tammy Lyn woulda noticed.

"Is Boss here?"

"Yeah, he's in the back room."

Bo and Luke headed to the back.

"Boss, have you seen Rosco?" Luke asked Boss as he entered the back room.

"I've been tryin' to reach that knucklehead all day."

"We think that knucklehead might be in danger, Daisy as well." Luke told Boss.

"Both of their cars are here." Boss said.

"And there's no sign of 'em." Bo added.

"Someone might've taken off with them." Luke said to Bo.

"Now why would someone want to kidnap Rosco and Daisy?"

"Boss, get Enos on the CB and see if he can find any recent reports of any escaped criminals."

"What's that got to do with anything?" Boss said smartly.

"Maybe Rosco and Daisy saw something they didn't want them to see." Luke suggested.

"Boss you got to call Enos; if Luke's right they could be in serious trouble."

"I will. I will." Boss immediately reached for the CB mike.

Daisy and Rosco were seated in the back seat of a 1980 Dodge Aspen.

Their hands were still tied. They were being transported to a more remote location.

"What happened, Rosco?" Daisy asked him. "What did ye do to make him want it in for ye so bad?"

"Twenty years ago, Ricky Tyler was involved in a drug ring in Atlanta. I was sent there to do some investigatin'…"

"Uh huh." Daisy nodded for him to continue.

"He was only 18. I didn't know….I had to lock up a kid. And I didn't believe what he'd said he'd do to me when he served his 20 years."

"Wait until Bo and Luke find us, they'll have it in for ye." She really wanted him to about something else. The silence made was tempting for her to strike up a conversation. She wanted to talk about her parents, ask him what they were like, what happened the day they died. But she knew he would never tell her. It made her mad at him. But they had to stick together. "It was his fault thought."

"Stop talkin' back there." The driver said.

Rosco brought his voice down to a whisper. "Listen I'm gonna pull a shuck n jive on 'em."

"Rosco." She tried telling him it was a bad idea.

"Shhh." The man in the passenger seat hushed them. He held up his hand that now held a gun. "You better listen to the man with the gun."

"Oh yeah, let's see how useless the man is without the gun." Rosco suddenly lunged forward and grabbed the man's arm.

The driver started to swerve all over the road as Rosco and the other man fought over the gun.

"What are you doin'?" She shouted at him.

"Grab the wheel." Rosco told Daisy.

Daisy climbed up front between Rosco and the driver. She and the driver fought over the wheel. Daisy elbowed him in the head and the driver fell unconscious. Daisy suddenly has an 'oh crap' look on her face.

**_Uh oh maybe that was a bad idea._** **_Y'all don't go head to that refrigerator now._**

"Rosco…."

"What….." He shouted back at her. He was still trying to wrestle the gun away from the other man.

"We sorta got a problem." The gun went off and fired into the room of the car. Daisy ducked her head.

"Don't let go of the wheel." Rosco said. He finally got the gun. He used it to knock the man out. He leaned over the unconscious man's form. He grabbed the wheel.

"Rosco, I got it…" Daisy told him. They both tried to turn the wheel, making them swerve again.

"No, I got it; you'll have to reach the break. "

Daisy put her foot on the break and the Aspen screeched to a halt. Rosco put the car in park.

**_How about that drivin? Put Daisy's drivin' and Rosco's drivin' together you get perfect drivin. _**

They got out of the Aspen. They spot a car pulled over at the side of the road. It was abandoned by the looks of it. Rosco looked inside the car before getting into it. "Get in." He said.

He was a law enforcement officer and he was stealing a car. She got in the passenger's seat.

"Do you know how to hi-wire this thing?" He asked. She knew he meant hot-wire.

Daisy sure did. Bo and Luke taught her how to hot-wire a vehicle. "Sure do." Daisy said getting immediately to work. "Bo and Luke taught me."

Soon enough they were being chased by Tyler and his gang.

The Aspen was now in front of them. The car Tyler was in was behind them. Rosco stopped the car in the middle of the road. The other cars stopped as well but at a good distance. Rosco took out the gun he had taken from the drug lord. "Sit tight. Kew." He left the car. Daisy crossed her arms. She was not going to sit tight. She didn't doubt for a moment that Rosco would be back. He wouldn't abandon her, when she was in danger anyways. Daisy climbed into the back seat. The back windshield suddenly shattered. She put her hands over her head and threw herself down.

Rosco crouched down low as he left the vehicle. He managed to get to the other side. Bullets dinged off the opened the door and slid out. "Get back in there." Rosco motioned toward the car.

"Not a chance." Daisy said.

The gun fire suddenly seemed to cease.

"I think they're out of bullets." He started to edge toward the front of the car. Daisy grabbed his arm. He looked at her.

"Be careful." She said. Her blue eyes were filled with worry. For a second he thought they were the escat same as his. It was like looking into his own eyes in the mirror. When this was over he didn't know what was going to happen. He felt so much caring for this woman. He hadn't disliked her as much as he disliked the Dukes. He supposed it was because she was Lea's daughter. Maybe now it was because she could well be his daughter. He had to be brave for her.

"You know me." Rosco smiled. "Careful is my middle name. Kew. Kew."

She rolled her eyes but then a smile crept onto her face. She was glad she smiled when his back was turned. She didn't want him to know that there was a part of her that didn't dislike him.

She didn't come out from behind the car until she heard one more bullet.

"Nice shot Rosco!" Daisy said. He had shot out the Aspen's tire. The driver and passenger had run away after running out of bullets.

"I'm never a nice shot." He says excitedly."Kew. Kew." He points at the barrel of the gun, and then to the villains tires.

"Come on, Rosco stop lollygaggin'" She was already walking down the road.

He turns around and follows after Daisy. "Now let me get a head of ya."

They were still on the country side. It was almost dark now. They probably had been walking for miles.

There was a little general store down the roast. They had to cross a cross walk to get to it.

"Rosco we had to have broken at least 50 state county rules." Daisy proclaimed as he crossed the intersection without using the cross walk. Rosco grabbed Daisy's arm and lead her across the street.

"Sometimes you got to live like a Duke. "

**_I _**_**think I'm starting to like this Rosco.**_

Boss, Uncle Jesse, Bo, and Luke were all in the back room at the Boar's Nest while they were awaiting word from Enos. Enos found out that a recent convict had been released from prison. He served twenty years. And Rosco had been the one who arrested him.

"Why would they want Daisy?" Bo asked.

"She might've been at the right place at the wrong time." Luke reminded him of his previous theory. "Only they were after Rosco and Daisy

"We shoulda tried harder to keep her away from Rosco." Luke said regretting.

"She left for the Boar's Nest before we could stop her." Bo said to him. "And we didn't know Rosco was going to be there."

"The F.B.I. might want to get involved with this."

"The F.B.I." Boss said as if he disapproved.

" Kidnapping a Sheriff counts as a Federal offense." Luke said to him.

Uncle Jesse says he'll phone the F.B.I.

"I'll do it, Uncle Jesse." Enos said. "Knowing my wife and best friend are out there….I'll do it. You don't have to worry about it Uncle Jesse. I'll find them." **_In fact he had a better idea._** **_He'd call the L.A.P.D._**

**_And I have no doubt Enos would go back on his word. He's the best Deputy in Hazzard County. And with his L.A.P.D. experience, I think he'd find Ol' Rosco and Daisy in a hurry, don't you?_**

They couldn't go into the general store it was the most obvious place Tyler would look.

They entered the general store anyway. Daisy asked to use the phone. She called the Hazzard Police department but got no answer. **_Though Daisy got no answer that phone call would come in handy later._**

After they left the general store, they were both uncertain what to do next.

"What do we do now?" Daisy asked Rosco. He was looking around as if he could find the answer.

"We….hide."

"Is that your great plan? We hide?"

"Unless you've got a better idea. One that doesn't involve shootin' anyone."

"I got a plan. The only downside…." He looked off the road where there was a small pond. "is that we'll get wet."

"The only downside,' Tyler retorted, "is that you die."

He could feel Tyler's gun jab into his ribs.

**_Enos tracked Daisy's phone call, it came from a general store located near Chickasaw county and Finchburg County. That meant they could either be somewhere near Hazzard or Atlanta. Enos had a hard decision to make. _**

The water was cold, running down her face, and dripping from her hair. She had jumped in the pond. Rosco had not. Tyler had a gun pointed at him. One of Tyler's men pulled her out of the pond.

**_So much for that little escape plan. I'm hopin' Bo, Luke, and Enos get to them in time. _**

They were back at the old abandoned barn. Daisy noticed it. It was McHenry's old barn. It had been abandoned since she and the boys were children. They used to play in it all the time. Bo and Luke would find this place in no time. She hoped.

"She does kinda look like you." Tyler said twirling his gun in his hand.

**_Uh…she does?_**

"She has your eyes."

Daisy looked at Rosco but he looked away from her. He knew it was true. One of them was going to die right now. _I'm sorry Daisy, for what your mother and I did to Joe. _

"Shame I'll have to kill her." Tyler pointed his gun at Daisy.

_No, not her. It has to be me. _He was standing right next to her. He had to save Daisy, even if it was the last thing he did.

Daisy stared down the barrel of the gun. Before she could look at Rosco she felt him put his hands on her shoulder and push her out of the way.

"Rosco." She shouted. She hit the dirt, catching her fall with her palms. She covered her ears as a gun shot rang in the air. It didn't take her too long to realize that he had been shot.

"You shot the Sheriff." One of Tyler's men said. A siren sounded in the distance.

"It's the police." Tyler and his men scattered.

Daisy crawled over to where Rosco lay. She saw a hole in the arm of his sheriff's uniform. Blood started to seep from it. He had been shot in the left shoulder, the bullet only a few inches from his chest.

It's not that bad. Daisy thought. He had only been shot in the shoulder. But he was losing too much blood. She looked at him. He had his eyes closed. She couldn't tell if he was conscious or not. Then she saw his face quench up in pain. He opened his eyes. They were the most startling blue Daisy had ever seen them as he gazed at her intently. "It's just a scratch." He said.

Daisy put a hand gently on his arm. She was careful not to touch the wound. She shook her head, about to say something but she couldn't. She couldn't joke at a time like this. It amazed her that he could. That's what she loved about Rosco. He could joke around, even in the worst situations, even in the face of death. And that took courage. Rosco P. Coltrane was no coward. It was the last thing he was. If he was anything he was a fighter. He never gave up. But she didn't know if he'd be able to pull through this.

Looking into those eyes, she noticed something. They were as blue as hers. If he died before she found out he was her father….if he died she didn't want to find out. If he was her father, she'd lose another parent. One she'd known all along. She couldn't think that way. He wasn't going to die. Help would be here soon. Stop asking what if's Daisy. She scolded herself. She had to prepare herself for reality. She wouldn't have the chance to tell him how much she loved him. Like how a daughter loved her father.

If he died she'd tell them, let them know. Rosco P. Coltrane was brave and the best Sheriff of Hazzard County and the best in the State of Georgia.

"You look just like your ma." He said smiling, his eyes watering. There wasn't sadness in his eyes. He was happy. But was he still in pain?

The color suddenly seemed to drain from his eyes, so the blue was almost grey. His eyes closed again.

"Rosco." She put her head on his chest, listening for a heartbeat. It was slow and a little unsteady.

**_Yikes. I hope this isn't a dead _****ringer folks. I gotta stick around to find out if he's alright. How about you?**

When the reality hit home, everything seemed to freeze. Everything was like in slow motion as if she was in a dream.

Before she knew it Bo and Luke were there.

"Daisy." Luke said. Daisy lifted her head up when she heard Luke's voice.

Luke and Bo immediately ran to Rosco's side.

Luke bent down on the right side of Rosco. Bo sat down and put Rosco's head in his lap. "Put pressure on that." Bo nodded to Rosco's wound.

Daisy was slightly out of it. But she was there enough to listen.

"Rosco, can you hear me?" Luke asked. Rosco made no movement.

The Sheriff's breath became ragged. His hair and face was dampened with sweat. Luke noticed that his hair seemed to have more streaks of grey in it. It was probably from worrying too much lately, about them blaming him, about not being able to forgive himself, and worrying about Daisy. Uncle Jesse had told him about Rosco blaming himself for Daisy's parents' deaths. Uncle Jesse told him not to tell Bo just yet. He didn't know how Bo would react, and Luke being the cool headed one. Luke tried to focus on Rosco's condition. He wasn't no medical expert but he could tell he was worsening.

He looked at his cousin's panicked faces. Daisy was in a worse state than Bo though.

"When I was in the marines….they trained us for these situations. The best thing to do is not panic and find something that can help stop the bleedin'." He went over to the other side of Rosco. "Here." Luke untied Rosco's tie and unbuttoned the top button of his uniform. He tied it around his injured arm.

**_Daisy had been too panicked and worried to even think of that. Luke being an ex-marine knew what to do in these types of situations. He just thought he'd never had to use it. _**

**_It's best to stay calm as you can folks. _**

Enos comes in. "I heard gun fire….what happened…." His eyes fell on the Sheriff.

Luke looks over his shoulder at him. "Enos, call an ambulance. Rosco's been shot."

Enos just froze there.

"Enos!" Luke shouted to snap him out of it. Enos jumped, snapping out of it. As soon as he did, he ran out of the barn faster than a confederate flag blowing in the wind.

Rosco's breathing seemingly went back to normal.

Luke placed his fingers to Rosco's neck. He moved his fingers around trying to feel for the slightest hint of a heart beat.

"Luke is he….." Bo didn't want to really know. There was no way for someone to be that pale and be alive.

"I don't know." Luke said. " I'm not findin' a pulse."

Enos ran to his patrol car and grabbed the CB mike.

"This is Deputy Dog. A…. Anyone got…..got their ears on?" Enos stuttered.

Someone had to anwser. The Sheriff couldn't die. _Lord please don't let him die. Lord please don't let him die. Let someone anwser. Enos silently prayed. Not even a second later, his prayer was answered._

"Crazy Cooter, to Deputy Dog. I might be crazy but I ain't dumb. Is that you Enos? "He knew it was Enos, he was just surprised that his code name was Deputy Dog.

"Cooter, I need ye to send for help. We're out at old Ridge Barn…two guys kidnapped Daisy….and they shot…." Enos couldn't finish his sentence.

"Whoa…whoa. Whoa…Enos slow down. Who's been shot?" Not Daisy. Cooter thought.

Enos took his hand away and pinched the bridge of his nose. It was a trick he'd alway use when he was a kid to keep himself from crying. It didn't seem to work this time. "The Sheriff. It looks real bad. " The blood that soaked the Sheriff's uniform, he couldn't get it off his mind.

"Don't you worry Enos. I'll get an ambulance out there pronto over and out." Cooter signed off. "Hold on Sheriff." He said as he hung up the CB mike. He ran to a pay phone outside his garage and called Tri-County to send an ambulance.

There was no way Boss Hogg would've listened to him. Calling the hospital first was the best bet if Enos said Rosco's condition didn't look good.

"…please be alright Sheriff." Enos said. He didn't bother to hang up the CB mike. He tossed it aside and ran back toward the barn.

Luke grabbed Rosco's hand and felt his wrist. "He's got a pulse." He said to Bo and Daisy. "barely."

Enos rushed back in. "The ambulance in on its way."

**_At least that's one good sign I've heard all day._**

"Please don't die Sheriff. Please don't die." Enos says as they watch the paramedics load Rosco onto the ambulance and shut the door.

Luke put a hand on Enos shoulder to comfort him. "He won't die Enos. Rosco never gives up."

Enos walks over to Daisy and Bo. Enos hugs Daisy.

Luke glanced over at Daisy, who buries her head in Enos 'chest. They were probably both crying.

Luke looked away and looked up at the sky, fighting back tears of him own. By some miracle he stayed strong. Now they needed another miracle. He never really asked God much for anything. "Lord, if you don't let him die, I'd believe in you a lot more." Luke said silently. Then he walked over to his cousin's.

* * *

Bo, Luke, Daisy, and Enos arrived at Tri-County Hospital.

"He was only shot in the arm." Daisy said to the doctor, wondering how it could have caused the damage that it did.

"Any gunshot wound is fatal. He's fortunate to be alive. If the bullet would've been a couple o' inches to the right, and if he didn't get help as soon as he did, considering at his age, he wouldn't have made it."

The room fell silent. Enos went out to his patrol car and put an APB on the rest of Tyler's guys. He managed to catch one of them before he had entered the barn and saw the Sheriff. For an officer of the law he never seen someone shot, or even that close to death, or even that much blood. He had thought the Sheriff was a goner. No, not just the Sheriff, but also his best friend.

He hesitated before he grabbed the papers off the dash. He re-entered the hospital. "I got some news, fellas." Enos said as he walked into the waiting room. "The DNA results came back….." Daisy hesitantly grabbed the papers from him. "I thought now would be a good time…."

Now was a good time more than any, Daisy though as she studied it over carefully.

"What's it say?" Luke asked.

She handed the papers back to Enos without a word.

Uncle Jesse came rushing in to the waiting room. "Cooter said someone got shot…CB cut off before he could explain." He examined the small crowd of people in the waiting room. All three of his kids were there. Then who…

"Rosco saved Daisy's life." Luke said, as if he read Jesse's mind.

"Where is he?" Jesse asked. No one seemed to want to look at him. Rosco couldn't be dead. He'd never thought he would do such a thing, lying his life down for a Duke. But him dyin' was just not right. Jesse stepped toward the Doctor. "What room's he in?" He bared himself for the worst possible news, but he wasn't prepared.

"I'm only allowing kin at the moment…" The Doctor began. A sense of relief washed over Jesse. He was alive. Now he had to reach Boss and Lulu. He was thinking of telling Bo and Luke to call them but his thought was interrupted when Daisy suddenly rushed past them.

Daisy hurries past both of them. "I'm his daughter."

* * *

When he came around he was greeted by a bright light, nearly blinding him. The light could only mean two things.

He was dead, or...He was in the hospital.

Typical Rosco right, thinkin' he was dead first?

Daisy opened the door to Rosco's room slowly, not wanting to startle him if he was awake or startle him awake. He was surprisingly awake when she entered the room. He had a look on his face like he'd seen a ghost. He still looked tired but the color was starting to return to his face.

Daisy entered the room. At first he thought it was Lee.

But then he heard the steady hum of equipment. And she told him.

"You're in the hospital." Daisy said coming over to him. "You scared us." She sat at the edge of the bed.

"Scared me too." He smiled and slightly laughed. It wasn't his usual it was breathy.

He had been scared of the thought of being dead when he had woken up. He had acted like he wasn't scared when he was dyin.' When he saw Daisy, thinking it was Lee's angel coming to tell him his fate, it scared him. He hadn't exactly been on speaking terms with God.

But what mattered right now was that he was here and Daisy was here, because he saved her. He protected her like Lea and Joe would've wanted. Anyone of them woulda jumped in front of that bullet in a heartbeat.

"Are you alright?" She knew he wasn't but she had to ask.

"I'm talki' to ye aint' I?"

Daisy smiled. He was already back to his old self.

"I should be asking you if you're alright." He said.

"I'm here ain't I?"

"We're still both alive."

"You mean the world to Hazzard County, and the Dukes, and me. You're worth it, being my dad. I feel like a gosh darn fool that I didn't see it until…" She looked down at the floor.

"You said dad."

"Enos came back with the DNA results. They were a positive match." She looked at him. He looked deeply saddened and she cursed herself. She should have waited.

"We've waited long enough."

"Thank you for saving my life."

"I was just doin' my job."

"Two jobs."

"What's that?"

"Being a father and an honest law man."

The door opened. Lulu peered through. "The Doctor's allowing one person at a time. I really need to see him."

"He's ok." Daisy hugs her on her way out of the room.

**_Word spread through Hazzard like wild fire. But they forgot their grudges after what happened. I guess sometimes you do gotta live like a Duke, if not all the time._**


	8. The Sins of the Father

Ghosts from Rosco's past seem to be catchin' up with him. It's the anniversary of Daisy's parent's death. She still has questions. What really happened to her mother and Joe Duke and does Rosco know more than he was letting on?

Disclaimer: I do not own any Dukes of Hazzard characters or anything associated with the T.V. series. I do own my characters. Any resemblances, or name sakes, given to such characters, living or dead are coincidental.

_**The next day was the anniversary Rosco was still in the hospital recovering. He'd be in there a couple of weeks. How do you think Rosco's gonna feel when he hears that?**_

The Doctor was concerned about Rosco's condition. He had lost a lot amount of blood, for his age it could be a problem. Doctor Alcorn wanted to make sure he had no allergic reaction to the blood transfusions. And he wasn't going to release him until he gained his full strength back.

It would take at least three to six months for his arm to heal. It was too early to tell if the arm would heal completely. If it didn't heal right, when he came back after the 6 months, he would suggest that the Sheriff retire. He wouldn't like to hear it; no one likes to be told they should retire, if they loved their job. And Sheriff Coltrane certainly loved his job, he took it seriously.

Lulu, Boss, and Enos all took turns visiting.

Enos noted the Sheriff's pale face. The room was silent except the steady bleeping of the heart monitor. Rosco lay in the hospital bed unmoving, his eyes closed. He looked older than he was, more vulnerable.

"Sheriff?" Enos said.

Rosco's eyes opened. He'd been trying to sleep. He felt like shouting at the familiar voice, but he didn't have the strength to.

"Hey Enos." The Sheriff smiled a weak smile.

"I'll get 'im for ye Sheriff. I won't rest until I do. I'll get 'im."

"I know you will. You're the only friend I ever had in a long time." All those times he yelled at him he was only mad not catchin' the Dukes. Something kept him from telling Enos that. Boss wasn't really his friend. They were just usin' each other. Kind of ironic isn't it?

How could he think he had no friends? Enos thought. "The Dukes are your friends too, Sheriff, even if y'all don't act like it." But the Sheriff wasn't listening.

"I just wanted ye to know that. If anything were to happen to me….." He didn't want any regrets.

"Nothin's gonna happen to ye Sheriff." He wasn't going to die. He was going to pull through this. Enos wasn't going to let Tyler anywhere near him.

"Enos." Enos knew if the Sheriff had his full strength, he'd be yelling at him. Then he said something unexpected."You can all me Rosco."

Sheriff never let him call him Rosco. Now allowing him to, it just didn't feel right. "No, sir. It wouldn't be right."

"We're friends aren't we?" His voice took on a commanding tone.

"Yes, sir." Enos replied. The conversation was like they were on normal everyday duty. He shouldn't be. Even when he was supposed to be off duty he'd act like he was still on duty.

Police work was his life. Enos always thought after Rosco had lost his pension that was the only thing he had. Besides chasin' the Duke boys. He wondered how that came about. Boss had talked with Rosco, that day his pension was taken away. What ever Boss said to make him happy again, Enos could sure do with a word like that. Seeing Rosco like this, who was usual seen acting childish,enjoying hot pursuit, framing the Duke boys any chance he got,giving his cherful laugh. You'd think nothing like that could ever happen to him. Now he looked tired, like all his will had gone from him, caused by the damage of the bullet and the emotional damage after it. It was wrong. He was a kind hearted man, Enos thought. He just had a lot of problems. He tried to hide them with acting with a youthful venure. Though Rosco yelled at him he knew he didn't really mean it. Enos felt something tug at his heart. It was like Rosco didn't belong there in that hospital bed. It was tearing Enos' heart out to see him like that. "Rosco." Enos said the Sheriff's name. He didn't want to upset him. So he did what he said.

Rosco ended up raising his voice anyway. "….only when we're….. not on duty." All the talking made him tired. And yelling at Enos took a lot of effort. "Ye distick." Pain started creeping back into his body. The heart monitor bleeped a little faster not by much but it was enough to worry Enos.

"Sheriff, would ye be quiet a minute. You're gone and workin' yourself up." If his voice sounded a least bit frightened he tried masking it.

"I told ye…to…." He didn't have the strength to yell at the dipstick any further and it was making him frustrated. He didn't know when to listen to him.

"Ye don't need to worry about anythin'.Enos assured Rosco. He needed to calm the Sheriff down. He wouldn't like him interupting him, but it would keep him from talking. He needed to regain his strength. "We'll get Tyler. I called the L.A.P.D for help. Ain't no way he's gonna get ye." Not while I'm alive.

Rosco couldn't argue anymore. "Thanks, Enos." The hearts monitor returned to a steady bleeping.

"No problem. I'm just helpin' a friend." He noticed he wasn't looking to well as he did when he walked in. "Now you get some rest now…Sher….Rosco." He left the room.

Rosco had fallen unconscious before Uncle Jesse went in to see him. He walked back into the hall way a few seconds after he entered Rosco's room. "Get the Doctor." He said. There was no alarm in his voice, he kept his voice calm. The Doc went to check on Rosco. He came back 10 minutes later.

"He's awake and stable." He saw the releaved look on the faces of the Sheriff's family and friends."Don't try to get your hopes up too soon. He's not of the woods yet."

"How long until he…" Recovers, Daisy finished the sentence in her head.

"It could take three to six months. Until he recovers enough he should take it easy. When he does let him ease back into his job a bit, take things slowly. Before then we'd like to keep him here for observation."

"Observation for what?" Luke asked. He didn't like how the doctor said it.

"Mr. Coltrane's suffered a traumatic event."

"So have I." Daisy said. "I coulda lost him." They should be checking on her. Luke came over to her and out his hands on her shoulders.

"If you think Rosco's goin' squirrely…." Uncle Jesse said, slightly raising his voice, pointing a finger at the Doctor. Then you're too late for that. Jesse had wanted to say. But he wasn't really. He didn't lose his bearings, even after what he lost. He managed to keep holding on to it. It's just the way he acted, it would make any stranger that didn't know him, think he was insane.

"Of course not, Mr. Duke." Doctor Alcorn said.

"If you're concerned about him losin' his mind, Boss said, "then you're wastin' your time. He doesn't have a mind to lose."

_**If I didn't know any better I'd say Boss was actually trying to defend Rosco.**_

Five hours later, after they had brought Sheriff Coltrane in, Doc Alcorn was now allowing more than one person at a time.

"Rosco, what am I gonna do with you?" Boss asked. "I promised your sister Lulu I'd keep you from getting your fool head shot off. You spend one day away from me and you almost get your fool head shot off."

"I'm sorry Boss."

"You shouldn't be appologizin' to him Rosco." Uncle Jesse said. "He should be the one appologizin' to you."

"Yeah Boss, you don't care about Rosco one bit." Bo said. "You started all this."

"I do care. I'm pouring my dear heart and soul out here."

"This is a new low, even for you, Boss." Daisy pointed out. "Going around tellin'people Rosco might be my father. He ended up being."

"With the anniversary comin' up it well near tore him apart." Bo recalled the encounter he and Luke had in the Sheriff's department.

"I didn't know. I didn't mean to hurt anybody." Boss said regretfully. "I didn't think…"

"That's exactly, what went wrong J.D." Jesse said. "You didn't think."

"Rosco, would you please forgive me?"

"In my own time little buddy."

"Rosco…." Jesse warned. Life was too short to hold back forgiveness. Rosco had come close to dyin' He thanked the Lord that Luke, Bo, and Enos found him in time.

Rosco accepted Boss's apology.

Jesse, Daisy, Boss, and Lulu cleared out of the room. Bo and Luke stayed.

"You ok, Rosco?" Luke asked. Rosco was starting at the black and white t.v.

"Yeah….I suppose." He said without looking at the boys. "Just because I saved Daisy don't mean anything's gonna change."

"Rosco we never hated ye. It's against a Duke to hate anybody." But Bo sensed Rosco wasn't listening. It was like talking to a brick wall.

Tyler was in Boss Hoggs' office at the Boar's Nest.

"The Sheriff has some real interesting history." He was going through the journal he had found. "You know what today is?"

"Uh…Thursday?" One of his men asked.

"No, you idiot. Today is payback. I can use what's in here against the Sheriff."

"How are you gonna do that?" The driver asked.

"Just watch and learn Mackey boy."

They had uped the dosage of the morphine. Doctor Alcorn walked into the waiting room where the Duke boys and Mr. and Mrs. Strate were. These people cared for him. They had been to vistit three times today. He told them that he might act a little strange. "He might act a little funny."

"Rosco always acts a little strange." Bo said.

"We uped the pain medication. The other dose wore off too quickly. That could have been why he passed out earlier."

"Are you still allowin' more than one person at a time?" Daisy asked.

"Two at a time would be fine." The Doctor said.

Both Enos and Daisy decided to visit first.

"I got that APB out on that Ricky Tyler." Enos told Rosco.

"Come here Enos. " Rosco said. He tried sitting up.

"Sheriff, I don't think you should…" Enos was into the habit of calling him Sheriff again. But Rosco didn't seem to mind. He probably had forgoten their previous conversastion. Enos was just concerned that he might further injure his arm.

"Just get on over here." Rosco motioned him with his good arm. "I have somethin' to tell ye."

Enos walked over to his beside. Rosco had managed to sit in slightly up right position. With his good arm, he put his hand on the side of Enos's face.

"I love ye, Enos." He said.

"Uh….thanks Sheriff." Enos was taken aback. He wondered if it was just crazy talk, from the drugs they'd given him.

He let his hand fall back down to his side. "And I love Daisy."

"I love you too Rosco." Daisy said smiling. Boy was he really out of it. She wouldn't let this one go later. She had to tell the boys.

"But I don't love Boss, but I do love Lulu and Flash…" He looked down at his good hand and counted them on his fingers.

"You get some rest now." Daisy said hugging him carefully. She kissed him on the forehead.

As the door shut behind Daisy and Enos, he didn't want to be left alone. Memories of Ricky Tyler came back to him. He could go after Daisy or him. He was tired but he was afraid to fall asleep. He was in a hospital while a would be killer was on the loose, probably after Daisy. He was stuck here, he was vulnerable. He felt totally helpless, more helpless than he had ever in his life. He prayed Enos was able to keep her safe.

"You gotta be careful in there. " Daisy teased Bo and Luke as she and Enos walked back into the waiting room. "Rosco's sayin' he loves everybody."

The memories of Daisy, as a child came back to him. Daisy at 7 years old, it had been a year since her parents had died. She was sitting on the porch outside Eno's house, waiting for Enos.

August 1968

"Hi Daisy." Rosco said coming over to her. He sat down next to her. "How's your knee?"

_**Daisy had gotten hurt a few days ago when she was playin' with Enos, and Rosco was checkin' if she was alright.**_

"Better." She looked at him in wonderment. He was always watching out for her. Just watching to make sure she was ok. "Rosco, are you my daddy?" He didn't look at her.

"Why'd you ask something like that?" He stared out to the road.

"Because you always protect me." She looked at him as he looked at her. Why'd he look sad?

"That's my job as an officer to protect people. But no, darlin' I'm not your father."

Daisy got up as the front door to Enos' opened. Rosco didn't turn around to see who had opened the door or see Daisy go inside.

_**Daisy never remembered that memory. She barley remembered anything from her childhood, except for Bo and Luke pestering her all the time.**_

Rosco still sat on the porch.

He would be a bad father to her because of his past mistakes, his sins. He didn't want her to pay for them later. A tear slid down his cheek. He would've given anything to say that he was then. But he hadn't known. _**You see Rosco thought he wasn't worth it, for what he did in the past. **_

He remembered when he and Joe had stopped bein' friends, all because of a broken promise.

May 1957

"Lea and I are getting married Rosco, and you can't change that." Joe had come to see him after Lea had stormed out on him.

"You can't even keep a promise." He should have known Joe would go back on his word.

"People change Rosco." He didn't really change. He planned to keep that promise. But he loved Lea too much. It hurt him that he was choosing Lea over his best friend. He had to, didn't he?

"I don't. I'm the most honest man in Hazzard. I woulda kept my promise." He probably wouldn't have either. He loved Lea too. He would have dropped everything before, even if it meant losing his best friend. It turned out he was losing his best friend anyway.

"I'm not you Rosco." Rosco was an easy going guy, Joe wasn't. He didn't always do what he always said he was going to do, Rosco did. Rosco should know that about him, that he was not likely to keep a promise.

"If you don't apologize, you can kiss our friendship goodbye. And not only our friendship but with your family…."

Joe just shook his head and started toward the door. So this is how it ends, Rosco giving him an ultimatum.

"I'll never trust another Duke again." Rosco called after him.

Joe stopped in the door frame, looking over his shoulder. "Goodbye, Rosco." And he was out the door, taking with him the fate of his family.

Present day, July 17th, 1985

He snapped out of the memory as the door opened again. There was barely a sound of it closing. His eyes wear must have been sleeping and dreamt of the memories. He kept his eyes closed anyway. He didn't really want to be bothered right now by whoever was coming in. He could hear scuffle of boots coming closer to his bedside. "Why don't you give it to me already?" Figuring it must be Tyler.

"We're not done with ye yet." A deep voice said.

Rosco opened his eyes, one at a time. They blurry faces of the Duke boys came into focus.

The voice had belonged to the dark haired Duke.

The blonde one smiled. Rosco had disliked Bo the most. Because he reminded him a lot like Joe. Not because their names sounded alike, but because he had the same head full of blonde, floppy hair and the same arrogance. But Bo took more things into consideration than Joe had. He put family and friends before pride, Joe had been the opposite.

That one time Bo had gotten into an accident, and had hit his head, Rosco had been concerned for him. That was the time Bo had gotten amnesia and Boss had taken advantage of it.

He thought about Joe again and his dislike for the Dukes came back at full force.

"I want ye away from me. Bad news follows ye."

"Rosco, bad news doesn't follow us." Luke said.

"If bad news follows us it's usually you and Boss." Bo pointed out.

"Yeah? It's because… you cause nothin' but trouble. My daddy always said, there's trouble, and then there's trouble." What was he saying? "Where there's trouble, there's always a Duke."

"We can't help it, bad luck just follows us." Luke said. "That's the Duke family curse." We probably got as much as bad luck as you do.

Tyler approached the hospital. Tri-County was the closest to Hazzard, the Sheriff's home town. The Sheriff had to be well heavily guarded if they knew he was still looking for him. He had to take the risk.

He wondered if the Sheriff was still even alive. He didn't get to see the extent of the damage. The bullet was, in some way intended for the Sheriff. Part of him knew he'd take the bullet for that girl.

He decided he'd have a talk with him. He had other plans on his agenda. Instead of killing the Sheriff he'd kill the girl instead. It would hurt the Sheriff, as she was his daughter, making his wish he was dead instead.

Two Detectives from the L.A.P.D. showed up at the hospital. Tyler hid in the shadows of the trees. Just two? This would be too easy.

Detective Cross and Detective Maurer introduced themselves to Bo, Luke, and Daisy.

Cross was the male Detective and Maurer was the female Detective. They told them about working with Enos on the L.A. Police office. Enos was one of L.A.P.D.'s finest. They were willing to take up the case.

"And Tyler had passed through L.A. once." Detective Lloyd Cross said. "He was 18 at the time but he got around. Made it harder for him to track him to one location. He was a smart kid."

"We're thankful that the F.B.I didn't beat us to this case first. They'd probably blow this whole thing out of proportion, taking the legal court actions." Cross said.

"Is there gonna be like a trial?" Luke asked.

"We'll see to doesn't get a trial." Detective Maurer said.

Luke nodded thank you. He didn't think Rosco or Daisy could take it. They whole Rosco being Daisy's father would probably get dragged into it. And the prosecuter would no doubt use that to make Rosco look bad. If that wouldn't make him feel worse. He was already worse as it was. It seemed that way with every passing hour.

Daisy hadn't been her self either. She'd been to see Rosco more than any of them. She'd stayed there all day. Jesse told her to allow Lulu to see him. But Lulu protested, saying that Daisy should see him as long as she liked. She was his daughter. She understood.

"We should go see him one more time. " Daisy was about to walk down the hall.

The Doctor interrupted her, announcing visiting hours were over.

"Let them see their friend Doctor..." Detective Maurer said.

"We ain't really..." Bo began.

"You better thank me for this." Detective Laura Maurer interrupted Bo. "The building will be secured. Now would be the best time to get visiting done."

Daisy thanked the Detective. She was proud of her husband, thanking god he had blessed her with such a grateful man.

Daisy, Bo, and Luke were in Rosco's room.

"How'd you find out I was yer father for sure?" He asked her. She had said something about DNA.

"I got Enos to get hold of the F.B.I to do a DNA test. I know I shoulda asked you first." But it could not wait.

"You shoulda asked me." Rosco scolded, like a father would. "I don't believe that piece of paper anyway. The F.B.I and their fancy technology. That's new. It could be all full of holes. "

"Rosco's right." Luke said. "We could get 'em to test it again. They probably got the results wrong."

"I know it's wrong." Rosco said. "I just did what I did because yer Aunt and Uncle wanted me to take care of her an' I did that."

"There's no need to deny it." Luke knew the real reason why he saved Daisy. He cared about the Dukes. At times he disliked them, but still. "Even if you are…."He shouldn't hate himself for it. It shouldn't matter if he was her father or not. He saved Daisy's life and almost lost his. That's all that mattered. The man did have a heart, unlike J.D. Hogg. Rosco just chose not to show it. Luke wondered why but didn't linger on it too long. He just hoped all this confusion cleared up soon.

"I know he is." Daisy said. She felt a strong bond with Rosco, extremely after what happened.

That evening Bo and Luke snuck into the Sheriff's department and grabbed the DNA result papers off Enos' desk.

_**Back at the farm Luke called The F.B.I about the results. And it turned out the F.B.I. geneticists said that they had made a mistake**_. _**The next morning they all visited Rosco to clear things up. I'm glad they cleared it up when they did. **_

"Rosco ain't Daisy's father." Uncle Jesse said.

"What?" Daisy bolted up right from her chair.

"They made a mistake on the DNA test." Luke said.

"But he is her Godfather." Jesse announced.

"I am?" Rosco asked. He'd never thought that they'd still want him to look after her.

"Joe and Lea didn't say the exact words. But they wanted Rosco to watch over ye after anything happened to them."

"I never thought they'd still want me te. So I handed the position over te Jesse." He felt he couldn't do it after his friends' death. Because he'd always would have been reminded of what he'd done.

"It's not somethin' you hand over." Daisy said, feeling angry again. But now that she thought about it, "But you have been watchin' out for me all this time. You just didn't know it."

He always managed to keep her out of trouble. And he never did anything to put her in danger. In a way he had always been there. And that one time in her childhood. She remembered, she was playing with Enos. She was hoping on her pogo stick and fell.

Enos had run away frightened. Rosco had been sitting his patrol car. He got out and saw Daisy. She sat crying on the sidewalk. He rushed over to her.

The child Daisy always thought he was a little strange but he was a nice man.

He had told her, "You'll be all right." He said looking at the scrap on her knee."It's just a scratch." And he scooped her up. He brought her to his and Lulu's place.

Lulu had bandaged her up while Rosco called her Uncle Jesse.

"There, all better. That wasn't so bad was it?" Lulu said in her nice soothing voice. She was as nice as her brother. Daisy thought, of course she ought to be, she was Rosco's sister.

Daisy sat on the bathroom counter. She shook her head and used her hand to whip her eyes. She could hear his voice caring from the living room.

"She took a tumble but she's awright." He was telling her Uncle Jesse on the phone.

She wished she had a daddy. And if she had a daddy she'd wanted him to be just like him. He saved people and made people safe.

Had he been remembering that memory when he had been shot? When he had been dying? He had said the exact same words. The words, "It's just a scratch." echoed in her mind. She had thought he meant the gunshot wound. Did he? Or was it just the past and present colliding. That time she had been the one by his side.

Tyler snuck into the hospital, later that night. The police must have thought that he was alone. He used his two guys as a distraction, knocking the hospital guards unconcious. One of the L.A.P.D. officers went to check out the commotion while the female officer stood outside the Sheriff's room door.

Mackey helped Tyler with the female officer. It took awhile to take her down. He didn't have her killed because he didn't want to leave a trial of dead bodies, especially one of a police officer. The L.A.P.D. had underestimated him again. They should have gotten the F.B.I.

Tyler entered the Sheriff's room. "Hello, Sheriff."

Rosco opened his eyes. "Go on n' kill me; I'll be able to rest now."

"I want to talk to you."

"Then you're gonna kill me?"

"No. You remind me too much of my old man."

"Well, look at that. A killer that wants' to have a heart to heart."

"Ye know, my father said that exact same thing. But he only used the words lady killer."

Rosco flinched at the words. "You almost killed Daisy."

"I was sort of hopin' you'd take the bullet for her. And you did."

"What are ye gonna do if you're not gonna kill me?"

"I'm gonna kill her instead of you." He waited to see what reaction he'd get from the Sheriff.

Rosco's heart fell. After what he did to save Daisy's life, she was still gonna die. Why didn't he just kill him? He'd probably still kill Daisy anyway. "No, don't you touch her."

"She's you're daughter." He paused for a second. "Is she the only family you have?"

Rosco shook his head.

"Good cause you'll need them once this is all over."

As Tyler left Rosco tried getting out of bed.

"I gotta find my clothes. Thing about hospitals, they don't wancha to escape."

Daisy was given the day off at the Boar's Nest. Lulu had to convince Boss to let her. But she had to work. It was the only way to take her mind of things. She wondered if that was really why Rosco chased Bo and Luke, to keep his mind off things, and he didn't use his mind so he didn't have to think about it. She finished wiping down the bar when she heard someone enter.

She looked up. When she did, she only wished she hadn't. Standing there was Ricky Tyler. She stared at him for a few seconds before making a run for it. He made a grab for her.

"You're father's gonna be seein' you real soon. But not alive."

Rosco…she could only think of him at the moment. He wouldn't be able to take it if she wound up dead.

Luke entered the hospital room. He saw Rosco lying on the floor. He had fallen out of bed went he had gotten out of it. He had fallen on his injured arm. A wave of pain shot up it again. When Luke found him he was out cold.

"Bo, call a nurse."

Bo, who was still standing in the doorway, rushed back into the hall. "We need a nurse, this way."

Luke bent down by Rosco's side. A young female nurse came in, followed by Bo. She also bent down by Rosco's side.

"Mr. Coltrane, squeeze my hand if you're with us." She waited a few seconds for him to response. Then the middle aged man squeezed her hand. Not tightly, it was a weak grip but it was enough to tell he was alright. He started to come around. He sat up and looked at the younger dark haired man. He grabbed the front of his shirt. "Tyler." He said.

"He was here?"

"Daisy…."

"You think he's after Daisy?"

Rosco nodded. He let go of Luke's shirt and sank to the floor, unmoving.

"Aw, man." Bo said.

"He's all right." Said the nurse. "He's just fainted." She turned to Luke "You're friends of his?"

"Luke Duke, that's my cousin Bo."

"Nancy Clemens." She would have thought he was good looking if she hadn't been in this predicament.

"Luke now's not the time to get friendly. We got to tell Enos and the others."

They left the Hospital and CB'd Enos on the way back to town.

"We're goin' with ye." Luke told him when they met up with him at the Sheriff's station.

"I can't let ye's Luke." Enos said.

"Daisy's life is in danger." Luke said to Enos. They weren't just going to sit around and wait for the news. They had the right to go after him as much as Enos did. "We're goin' with ye to make sure this Tyler fella is stopped."

Tyler had Daisy in the back seat of his black Trans Am.

She was tied up again. "You won't get away with this." She said.

Tyler looked at her in his rear view mirror with his cold black eyes. "Maybe not, but I still get my revenge."

His men were covering him from a good distance behind.

"You won't get away with this." She said again. Enos and Bo and Luke will stop him.

She looked out the back windshield of the car. To her surprise the orange car was coming up to them. It was approaching her like a savior.

Luke and Bo saw Tyler driving on a dirt road.

"Look like he's headed for the county line." Luke said.

"And Daisy's in the back seat." Bo speed up a little bit but not too fast. They passed the car ahead of them, unknowing it was Tyler's men.

"Hey, that car just past us."The driver said.

"Try to go around it." The other one said.

"I can't they're speeding up."

"Catch 'em. We can't let 'em get close to Ricky."

They gradually speed up.

Tyler's car and his two other men have the General Lee boxed in.

_**They ain't packed in shoulder to shoulder like spectators at a world cup soccer match. It's a whole lot messier.**_

Enos in his patrol car comes up from behind. It hits the General's bumper, pushing it forward.

"Nice work Enos."Luke said smiling. Bo's expression was a far cry from matching his.

"Ding dang it. We just had that fixed last week after Rosco but a dent in it. If Enos damaged it…"

"Bo, we have other things to worry about that might get damaged." He reminded him that Daisy was still in danger.

Bo nodded and put on the gas more.

_**And if you think that was good timeing, the L.A.P.D. Dectectives were right behind them.**_

The General cut in front of the Trans Am, bringing it to a stop.

Enos' patrol car cut in front of the other. The Duke boys climbed out of their car. Tyler and his men followed. Enos got out of his patrol car, gun at the ready. The L.A.P.D. officers did the same.

Tyler grabbed Daisy out of the back of the car. His own gun in his hand. "Any one of you step any closer, I'll waste her."

"Just let her go. She's got nothin' to do with it." Luke shouted at Tyler.

"Nothin' to do with it? She's the Sheriff's daughter, the perfect way to get back at him. I hear losing a loved one is worse than dying." He'd seen the man that looked like he had so much guilt. He probably lost so much. "I don't think the Sheriff can live with any more guilt, do you?"

"Just put the gun down it's over." Detective Maurer interjected.

"It's not over yet until she's dead." He had the gun aimed at Daisy's head.

"I see one flaw in your plan. She's not his daughter." Bo said.

Tyler didn't think that much of it. "He still cares about her."

Enos pointed his gun at Tyler. "You're under arrest fer attempted murdered. If you're planin' on making more charges against you…."

Tyler let Daisy go and pushed her into the dirt. She scattered up and ran over to Bo and Luke.

Tyler stepped toward.

Enos shot Tyler, his aim low.

Tyler dropped his gun. The damn deputy had shot him in the foot. "Just don't stand there." He said to his two men.

They didn't have two have their guns on them so it was easier to take them down.

"We'll take it from here." Cross said. He Enos, and Maurer aressted Tyler, and his two guys.

_**Well that was all settled. Tyler and his men got 100 years to life. They would never step foot on the streets again. **_

_**Daisy finally got to talk to Rosco about her parents.**_

_**She wanted to know what they were like. But the crucial question was what really happened on that hot July day in 1969.**_

"Can you tell me what happened, the day they died?"

_**There was a lot they don't tell ye about death. An' one of the biggies is how long it takes the ones you love the most to die in your heart. In your heart they only die a little at a time. Take it from Rosco that was one of his philosophies. **_

He thought about Lea, all those times she'd come to him. He thought of her smile, her fragrant smell. It was like he could still smell it. All those times she'd put her arms around his shoulders when she greeted him, hear her voice, "Hey, Ross."

He tried not to think of the sadness. Hush. He told himself and closed his eyes. But he had gotten over it until recently. He had made it through.

"No." It was a feeble protest. He didn't want to let her go, either of him. If he told Daisy he was afraid it would feel like losing them all over again. He'd kept it secret all this time. But she had to know. He wasn't getting any younger. He wouldn't take it to his grave. If he waited longer he'd never tell her. He had to; it was the only way to get rid of the pain.

"I found them….I saw it….." Rosco said. "They were a lot like Bo an' Luke ye know."

"I'd like to hear that story." Bo said. "Which one do you think I was like?" He asked Luke.

Daisy changed the subject. "I would've been proud." She said to Rosco, ignoring her cousins.

"Of what?" He asked her.

"If you were my dad." She hugged him gently.

He was silent, and then taken a back.

He glances at Bo and Luke with a look that says, "If you tell anyone about this…"

Daisy pulled away from him and sat down in the chair next to his bed. She moved closer to him.

"Rosco, tell me about mama." Daisy said. Rosco looked at Daisy, from Bo and Luke, and back to Daisy.

He paused for a few seconds. "Lea Shield was the prettiest girl in Hazzard. And there weren't no man who wouldn't turn their heads when she walked into a room."

"Just like me." Daisy smilied.

"Just like you.' Rosco's smile matched hers.

_**Another Hazard happy ending, what do you make of that folks? **_


	9. Hazzard Duty

Chapter 9: Hazzard Duty

Disclaimer: I do not own Dukes of Hazzard, the charecters or the TV Show. They all belong to their respectful owners. I only own my charecters. Such charecters, with name sakes of real people living or dead is coincidental.

After Enos falls ill with the Flu, and with Rosco recovering, the boys once again become temporary deputies. Cletus is back, and Maryanne is also sworn in as Deputy.

_**Do you want to know what it takes to be a Sheriff's deputy? Well, shoot; first you got to learn how to peruse a perp. For the Duke boys, how hard can it be?**_

At Cooter's Garage, Cooter was fixing up Enos's police car.

"What's the matter with it?" Rosco asked. What's that darn dipstick done now?

_**Cooter was fixing Enos's patrol car after an attempt chasin 'Bo and Luke. **_

Cooter wheeled out from underneath the car. "The fuel line's leakin'. If Boss stopped buyin' the cheap ones….plus you guys shouldn't be doin' those jumps the boys make." He looks at Rosco. He was watching toward the road. He seemed like he was watching out for someone, Boss or Bo and Luke?

It had been 2 weeks after he had been shot. His right arm was in a green sling. It would take at least three months for it to heal. He started out into the street. Maryanne would be coming home today. He felt an emptiness and loneliness in his heart, like how he felt before he met Maryanne. She had filled the void. Would she be able to fill his heart again?

_**Rosco just gotten out of the hospital a few days ago and Enos was already gettin' on his nerves. Something else was also and it wasn't good.**_

"You alright Rosco?" Cooter couldn't help but ask. The older man seemed to be somewhere else, distant. After he'd been shot it seemed he wasn't the same. That man would never be the same again. Cooter thought. He hoped when Maryanne came back she could fix it. Damn it, he's not a car Cooter. He said to himself. People just can't get fixed. It takes time.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Alright?" His voice was low. Cooter looked at him, not buying it. "No one asked you Davenport." Rosco snapped at him.

"Ok, sorry I asked." Cooter said defensively. Maybe he'd got it wrong. With his injured arm he couldn't chase the Dukes, Enos had to.

_**While Enos tailed after Bo and Luke, Rosco was stuck in his office all day filling tickets. It was bound to make Rosco act like he'd woken up on the wrong side of the bed.**_

"How long will it take for you to fix it?" Rosco asked him.

"A couple o' hours." Cooter found that he couldn't bring himself to look at the man.

"How much is it going to cost?" If Boss found out it would probably come out of his paycheck. Even though Enos had wrecked it.

"A hundred and thirty five." Cooter gave a quick sideways glance at Rosco. Trying to find out what he was feeling. He wasn't sensing any emotion from the lawman now. He'd been through a lot in the past 3 weeks. "I'll tell you what. If you pay the 35 dollars; I'll put the rest on Boss' tab.

"Boss doesn't have a tab." He knew Cooter was trying to be friendly. He didn't need people to feel sorry for him. But at least the mechanic was going to bill it to Boss instead of him offering to pay it.

"He does now." Cooter smiled.

Rosco walked out of the garage and started walking across the street. Cooter's smile turned into a frown.

_**Cooter didn't know exactly what was up with Rosco. But he had a felling if you looked at Rosco wrong, the man would fall to pieces. **_

Rosco was walking toward the courthouse when he heard a familiar voice.

"Well, hello stranger." The voice said.

He turned around to see Maryanne. She went to hug him but noticed his arm was in a sling. She tried to be careful as she hugged him.

"Well, hello yourself, Missy." He was smiling but there was something in his voice that set her unease. She noticed the state of him when she got a full look at him. "Oh my, Lord what happened?"

"I was shot. " His voice was neutral.

"What are you doing in uniform? You should be resting."

He shoulda known she would make a fuss over him. He didn't tell her he had almost died because of it or about Daisy being his goddaughter. It was all too much right now.

The reality of him being a Sheriff never really sunk in. She knew the dangers but she never thought that he'd get shot. He was so full of life, when he was chasin' the Dukes, doin' his police work. It made him happy but only temporary; she would make him happy all the time. He was selfless and he was the sweetest man. He had been shot and they had no way of reaching her. Maryanne regretted that. She should have given them a way to contact her. But she hadn't known the folks in Hazzard long. If Boss Hogg had him workin' when he was injured….."If that Boss Hogg has you workin'…."

"He doesn't." Boss wasn't making him work. "Police works my life." He wanted to work.

"Rosco, I'm your wife. I'm your life now." He had more in his life other than police work. Her last marriage didn't work out because his "job" meant more than her.

"I know that but….." She didn't let him finish.

"It's my first day back and you're arguin' with me."

He was going to tell her he wasn't when he noticed she had come alone. His step-daughter, now his daughter wasn't with her. "Where's Sandy May?"

"She's staying with my mother." She and her mother had agreed that Sandy May got to know her Grandmother. "I know you care about her but don't change the subject."

"I wasn't arguin' with ye Maryanne." Rosco finally said.

"You're gonna listen to what I say. Go home and get some rest. I have some things to take care of first." _**Maryanne knew how close under Boss's thumb Rosco was and Rosco was probably coming up with an excuse to defend him.**_

"Maryanne….." He didn't want to rest. He wasn't even tired.

"I mean it, Rosco." It didn't take much to get him to listen to her. When he gave in he always looked down at the ground. She didn't consider herself a controlling wife. She was caring and she needed to take care of him. He needed bed rest. And she'd take check on him after she gave Boss Hogg a piece of her mind.

Cooter came out of his garage, having had heard raised voices. One in particular he had become familiar with. There she was. "Maryanne Coltrane. Aren't you a sight for sore eyes?"

Maryanne turned her head and saw Cooter Davenport. "Cooter." She ran over to him and gave him a hug. Cooter was like the brother she never had. He was the first person she met in Hazzard other than Rosco.

He hugged her back.

'Cooter." Rosco said. The younger man and woman looked at him, still in an embrace. "That's my wife."

Cooter and Maryanne looked at each other. Maryanne cleared her throat. They awkwardly broke the long embrace. She pondered if she had met Cooter first s would she have fallen for him.

She walked back over to Rosco's side. "Go on home. I'll check on you later. "

_**She would have gone to check on him first before giving Boss a piece of her mind. **_

_**It'd like to show you that, but I'll have to skip over it. Let's just say some of the words she said were not very pleasant.**_

_**So **_**after**_** Maryanne visited the Duke farm. **_

Maryanne knocked on the door of the Duke home. She never had been there yet. Perhaps she and Rosco would come for dinner sometime, if the invitation was still open.

Jesse greeted her warmly and invited her in.

_**Uncle Jesse and Daisy filled her in on the tragic events that happened over the past few weeks.**_

She started at the checked pattern table cloth.

"Maryanne, are you alright?" Jesse asked her.

"What?" She looked up at Jesse, taking in her surroundings as if suddenly remembering where she was. "Um…I'm sorry. I just got a lot on my mind."

"We all do." Jesse said.

"Daisy would you like to join me at the Boar's Nest." Maryanne asked the younger woman.

Daisy seemed shocked, not expecting the invitation. Then her face lit up with a nice friendly smile. "Oh, of course. My shift starts soon anyway."

Rosco entered his house, slowly. He didn't like the silence that greeted him. It brought back past memories. After Lulu had married and moved out, and when he came home from a long days work he'd be greeted by the same silence. It had reminded him that he'd be forever alone because he pushed everyone he cared about away.

His injured arm was a constant reminder. He felt useless. He couldn't do his duty. But that all changed now. He wanted Maryanne to be there, to tell her things he could never tell anybody else.

Instead of going upstairs to the bedroom to rest, he sat down on the living room couch. He loosened his tie with his good arm. Flash tried getting up onto the sofa but her legs were too short. Rosco bent over and tried picking her up with one arm. She was too heavy. "I'm sorry girl." Flash whined. "…Gotta cut back on those doggy num-nums." The dog's eyes looked every which way as if to say, "whatever."

"Don't give me that look." Rosco scolded. Flash lay down and rested her head at his feet.

The front door opened. Flash got up to greet who was at the door. Rosco pictured it was Maryanne but to his disappointment it was only Lulu. Don't get me wrong, Rosco loved his sister but now it wasn't her that he wanted to see right now.

"You should be in bed." Lulu said coming over to him.

Rosco stood up from the couch. "Lulu…I don't need…" He didn't need help from her. He wanted Maryanne.

"I'm your sister. I wanted to check on you. Plus Maryanne asked me to, to see if you were resting." Before he knew it she was leading him to the staircase her hand grabbing him by the elbow.

"Lulu…" But his sister wasn't allowing him to protest. She kept interrupting him.

"Come on, up to bed. And you're to stay there the rest of the evening."

They went into the bedroom. She let go of his elbow when they came to the bed.

"Sit." She ordered.

Boss was right. Having a wife that got along with his sister, they could 'gang' up against them, talk about their husbands to each other.

He sat down. He was going to tell her he was on the wrong side of the bed, it was Maryanne's side. But like everything else, arguing with Lulu was useless. She took off his shoes and swung his legs onto the bed, as he laid back. "Lulu, I'm not handicapped."

"Well for now you are." His sister reminded him. A few days out of the hospital and he was already trying to work. He still needed rest. Doc Appleby strongly recommended it.

_**Maryanne and Daisy were at the Boars Nest. No one bothered them. They figured the young bride had a lot to deal with. **_

"He almost died and I wasn't there. I shoulda been there." Maryanne looked at the glass in front of her. Daisy sensed she probably wasn't really looking at the glass. "How am I going to handle this Daisy?" Maryanne turned to her. Daisy thought she'd know. She'd taken care of Rosco the few weeks they'd known her without her actually doing anything.

Daisy thought of the one thing she could do. She leaned forward in her stool and gave the older woman a hug. "Just do your best hun."

"I always try."

"What do ye mean?"

"It's like he's always sad. I don't know why. I just want to make him happy."

_**That's why Maryanne married Rosco. She felt she could do something good. And Rosco deserved a good thing in his life. I agree 100%**_

"That's what's important in a marriage, Daisy. You make each other happy."

_**Daisy decided to take Maryanne's advice and apply it to her and Enos' relationship. She didn't really have to try. Anything she did made Enos happy. But it would be worth a try at this moment. You see Enos has the flu.**_

"Enos, what are you still doin' in bed?" Daisy asked as she entered their bedroom.

"I came home feelin' sick. Mr. Hogg wasn't really that happy about it."

She went over to the bed and felt his forehead. "You are burning up. Maybe you've got that bug that's been goin' around. How about I make you a nice hot bowl of soup."

"I'd love that Daisy." As she left the room he sneezed.

_**Meanwhile Bo and Luke went to the courthouse to settle their speeding tickets. They decided to go to Enos instead of Rosco while he was home resting. To their surprise Enos wasn't workin' either. **_

"I have a Deputy out and a Sheriff out." Boss sounded upset about it but that's not why he was really upset. Boss had been thinking to take advantage of that before Maryanne had blackmailed him.

"Here's a suggestion Boss you could make us deputies." Bo said. _**He was only teasin' but he recalled when he and Luke were deputies once. He had a lot of fun**_.

"You?" Boss asked flabbergasted as if Bo had said a bad word. Bo and Luke never had said a bad word in their lives. That's them good ol' country boys. Maybe it slipped out now and then, but there's no shame in that. It's a natural reaction.

"We'll be your deputies." Maryanne said as she entered the court house. "Your town is gonna be real well protected."

"We'll?" It was Bo's turn to ask.

"My cousin Cletus should be here…" He was going against the thought of the three of them as deputies.

"You think only one Deputy can run things?" Maryanne looked at him.

"Oh, no, no." Boss said shaking his head.

"You could use more deputies."

"I guess I could use more deputies. _**What do ye suppose she said to him to get him agreein' with her? **_

Cletus stumbles into the courthouse. "Evenin' Cousin Boss."

Maryanne stiffels a laugh. Bo looks over at her and smiles. He looks down at the ground.

"Cletus, where have you been?" Boss demanded. "You were supposed to be here half an hour ago."

"I met with Sheriff Little at the County Line. He said some bank robbers just robbed the Capitol City bank. He believes they might be headed this way." Cletus explained.

There couldn't be more of a perfect timing. Maryanne thought. "You're gonna swear these boys in as deputies as well." Maryanne told Boss. "Remember that thing we talked about?"

"Yeah, of course." Boss couldn't risk getting his cover blown. She could know every scheme he planned in the past few weeks. He hadn't been pulling off any schemes lately. Mainly because he didn't have Rosco by his side but that would all change when he came back and was able to do the big stuff again. "Have you any experience in law enforcement?"

"No, but I spent my time runnin' from 'em."

"We're in the same boat." Bo said.

"But I am a black belt."

Boss swore the Duke boys in as deputies and then Maryanne. He goes back to his office.

"Who is Maryanne to Rosco?" Cletus asked Bo and Luke. She had the same last name as Rosco.

"Rosco's wife." Maryanne answered.

"I've been gone and the Sheriff goes and gets married." He leaves the courthouse.

"Maryanne, what in the world did you say to Boss?" Bo asked. The only way you got Boss to listen to you was to blackmail him.

"Rosco tells me all about his schemes. I told him, if he did what I'd say I wouldn't spill the beans to anybody. He said "you wouldn't. I'm the best scammer in the county. I ain't never been caught." And I said. "Takes one to know one."

"That's all you said?" Luke was surprised that she was blackmailing Boss. What did she mean, takes one to know one?

"Something among those lines." Maryanne answered, shrugging.

"Does Rosco really tell you everything about Boss's schemes?" Bo asked hopefully. Maryanne liked him and Bo like they were friends. He figured if Boss Hogg was interferin' with their lives she would let them in on what she knew.

"No." Maryanne said looking down she petted Flash. She was trying to hide her hurt look. "Rosco doesn't tell me puddy." She wished he'd tell her more.

Bo's hopes were crushed.

"What were you doing here?" Luke asked. He still didn't fully trust her. He looked at Flash to Maryanne. _**They say dogs are the best judges of character. Flash only snapped at Boss. She didn't snap at Maryanne, so Luke guessed she must be ok.**_

"I thought Boss was makin' Rosco work but he wasn't." Boss could have been lying but Maryanne believed it. Police work was Rosco's life. She wondered if it would take up most of their time and keep them away from each other. "And I'm not really a con-artist. I just lived with one." _**She was going to clear everything up, her first day back in Hazzard, starting with her misguided reputation.**_ "So I know all the tricks of the trade."

Luke finally got an answer why she'd known not to trust Boss Hogg. She had seen right through him. "That's why you can spot a Hogg a mile away." Luke smiled. _**He was starting to like Maryanne more than he cared to admit, sounds kind of like how Rosco is with the Dukes.**_

"Which would make me the perfect deputy." Maryanne added. She would like working on the inside. "As I heard how things are run around here."

"You've heard but you haven't seen nothin' yet." Luke said. She hadn't really seen them in action when things got into full swing. "Come on Deputy." They all walk toward the door.

"After you deputies." She said.

_**Bo was decided to drive with Maryanne to keep an eye on her on her first patrol. Luke followed close behind, who was being followed by Cletus. **_

They see a car heading the opposite direction. It's taking up the road and speeding.

Maryanne stopped at the side of the road as she swerved to his the car.

"What are ye doin'?" Bo asked. The other car was getting away.

"Turnin' around so I can give 'em a ticket." She turned the car around. All three patrol cars followed the speeding car.

"This thing's been buggin' me." Maryanne talks off the blond wig to reveal fiery red hair.

"You was wearin' a wig this whole time?" Bo was shocked. He watched her red hair blowing in the wind. He had to admit she was gorgeous but stopped himself, remembering she was Rosco's wife. But now finding out her real hair color, it made Bo wonder what else she could be hiding from them.

"I would never dye this beautiful mane of hair." She was proud of being a red head. She was tired of being a blonde. "Let's get this show on the road. I'll show you how Tennessee girls get things done."

Boss came into Rosco's bedroom. "Rosco."

Rosco looked up at Boss. He wished he had locked the front door. He laid his head back down on Maryanne's pillow. Her sent hit his nostrils. It was instant relief but it was short lived.

"Rosco, I got some news for ye." Boss was saying. "That wife of yours …."

"Maryanne." Lulu said.

Boss just waved a hand at her. "Whatever. She's one of my new deputies. And the Dukes."

"Why'd you make them deputies? That's dangerous." He didn't mean that about the Duke boys. It would be dangerous for Maryanne. Why couldn't he get Cletus or Enos?

The bank robber's car starts to smoke underneath the hood. It pulls over.

There was no sight of the bank robbers. An APB came over the CB, giving the description of the robber's car.

"Those were those bank robbers form Capital City." Luke said over the CB.

"Yeah, I know." Maryanne said disappointed. "And I lost 'em."

Maryanne came into her and Rosco's bedroom, wearing a Hazzard county deputy uniform. Her hair was tied back, the first time he'd seen it that way…..and it was red. "I'm sorry I took so long…."

Rosco sat up, trying to figure out if he'd seen correctly. "Your….your hair is red."

Boss also looked shocked, his eyes wide. Lulu just stood there with a neutral expression.

_**If you're wonderin' why they're so shocked it's because no one in Hazzard had ever seen a red head before. **_

"I'll explain that another time." She came over to him, he deputy's hat in her hands.

_**No wonder why Maryanne's a real spitfire. Her hair is on fire.**_

"I'm just glad you're ok." She smiled and hugged him around the neck.

"Umph." He exclaimed.

"Oh." She said drawing back. "Did I hurt you?"

"No." She hadn't. He was just taken aback by the sudden hug. He felt a rush of excitement. No matter what hair color she had she was still the most beautiful woman.

"We'll leave you two alone to catch up." Lulu said to them.

Boss gave out a protest. "I want to have a talk with my Sheriff."

"Come on Jefferson." Lulu and Boss left the room the door shutting behind them.

Maryanne sat on the bed and watched them leave. She turned her head toward Rosco. "I'm sorry darlin'" She pushed a strand of graying hair away from his forehead. "I never shoulda left ye."

The bank robbers from Capital City were making plans. They snuck to the side building of the Hazzard County garage. They were planning on stealing some parts for their broke down car.

Cooter saw them and snuck up behind them. "Can I help you fellas?"

"We wanted to know where the highest authority is in this town. We checked the Hazzard County station. No one was there." One of the robbers said.

"Bo and Luke are temporary deputies. You can try reachin' 'em at the Duke farm."

_**I think Cooter just unknowingly set up trouble for the Dukes. **_

_**Meanwhile at the Duke Farm,**_ _**Cletus tried to teach Maryanne how to shoot. **_

_**She wasn't a very good shot as much as Rosco was. **_

Daisy, Bo and Luke are watching on.

Cletus goes to the side of her and bends down. "You got to keep it straight like…." He tries to straighten it.

The gun goes off.

"Sorry, sorry." Maryanne apologized.

_**Yep, those two were a match made in Hazzard. **_

"You got to focus or you won't aim right." Cletus explained.

"Cletus I say you got more brains than anyone's told me."

"Well, shoot Maryanne." Cletus said flattered.

The gun fires a second time, making Cletus jump.

"Maryanne, I didn't tell ye to shoot."

"What were ye thinkin, tellin' someone 'shoot" with a gun in their hand. Ye….dipstick."

"I swear, the longer Maryanne and Rosco spend together…." Luke shook his head. They looked on as he watched Maryanne hit Cletus with her deputy hat.

"Those two are becoming more and more like each other every day." Bo said, smiling and laughing.

Maryanne came over to him, punching him in the arm.

"Ah, Maryanne. Watch that sledgehammer of yours will ye?" Bo grabbed his arm where she had punched him. It was Luke's turn to laugh. "She punches really hard."

The bank robbers come to the farm.

Just as Boss Hogg shows up.

"How can we help ye fellas?" Bo asked friendly.

"Boss is with 'em. That means they're up to no good." Luke said to Bo.

"I'm not with anybody." Boss interjected.

"You ran us off the road." One of the bank robbers said to the Dukes.

"Maybe if you knew how the folks drive in Hazzard, you wouldn't've had that problem."

"Yeah. You taught you to drive?" Maryanne asked sharply.

"No one asked you." The ring leader said. Maryanne ignored him.

"You apparently have been taking stupid lessons from a…." Maryanne waved the gun around. Her sentence was cut off when the gun discharged. The robber jumped as the bullet hit the dirt by his feet.

A stray bullet sends Boss's hat fly up in the air. He catches it and puts it on his head.

His hands fly above his head as another shot goes off.

"I didn't mean to do that." Maryanne said apologetically.

"Someone get that gun away from her." Boss said his hands still above his head. "Before she hurts someone, mainly me."

"Get the girl." The leader says to his partner.

"Who you callin' a girl?" She gives a karate kick at the guy. "I'm a whole lot of woman."

_**Whatever she lacked in firing skills, I'd say that pretty much made up for it. **_

Bo and Luke charge the bank robbers. Cletus joins in. Boss hops in his Cadillac and tells his driver to get him out of there.

Maryanne is running from the bad guys, Daisy behind her. She stops in the woods and tears off part of her skirt making it shorter. "Now, that's much better."

"I'd say you got style, sugar." Daisy says admiring what Maryanne just done to her deputy skirt.

"That's how us Tennessee girls wear 'em." She hears snapping of branches behind her. She turns around. She lets out a sigh of relief when she saw it was only Bo and Luke.

"We'll handle this. Go home and check up on Rosco." Bo said.

"If you think I can't handle this…."

"We'll phone ye when we get close to 'em." Luke informed her. "Daisy go back to the farm and warn Uncle Jesse to keep a look out if those robbers come back."

"I'm on it Luke." Daisy walks back the way they had come.

Rosco walked to the kitchen. Maryanne was cooking dinner. He always found himself thinking about her. He didn't know why. She always took his mind off things and made his day better. When he'd always sit waiting outside one of his favorite speed traps, his mind would return to her. Never had a woman affected him this way. He liked how she took control of situations. She would help him and Boss with the schemes but then she'd help the Dukes.

Maryanne found herself always thinking about Rosco. Even when she was thinking about everyday things, she would somehow end up thinking about him. He acted like a 10 year old that liked hot pursuit but when she was alone with him he was different. He was as serious as serious could be.

_**While Maryanne was at home, cooking dinner, Bo and Luke were out tracking the robbers. They would give her a heads up when they were closing in on them.**_

They would mostly ate their dinner in silence. She'd give him a hug while he was still sitting at the table, before she went upstairs to put Sandy May to bed. Now that she was back he opened up to her more.

Luke CB'd in telling Maryanne they had the bank robbers in their sights and that she should just sit tight on this one.

Maryanne sighed and hung up the mike.

"They're doin' a very generous thing." Rosco told her.

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

_**The bank robbers ended up behind bars, and the Duke boys went back to being citizens. Maryanne decided to stay as Deputy. And with some sweet talkin' to Rosco, he let her keep the job.**_

Rosco is talking to Cooter outside the Hazzard garage.

"When we first met I think she was sorta afraid of me. I didn't think she wouldn't give me a second thought. I'm a lot older than her and an got scat for brains. I still don't know what I did to deserve her."

"You love each other. That's a good reason." Where could Cooter begin? Maryanne came walking over to them. "Maryanne Coltrane, and her love of firebirds, Trans Ams and of Rosco."

Maryanne smiled, shielding her eyes from the sun. "I might love some hot rods, but I put Rosco first."

_**If she makes a deputy's job interesting, I'd like to see what's in store next. I don't know if it's always been like this. Maybe it's always been. And Maryanne brought it to attention. Hazzard will always be the same, even if there are a few changes. **_


	10. Confessions of a County Sheriff

Chapter 10: Confessions of a County Sheriff

Boss sends Rosco and Maryanne undercover to find out if an ex-thug and gives Rosco a secret mission to see if the thug can be trusted. Rosco and Maryanne get into trouble, and a Duke might be their only hope.

Disclaimer: I do not own The Dukes of Hazzard or the characters. Characters and trade marks all belong to their respectful owners except for my own.

Rosco walked into the Boars Nest that evening. He sat down in a booth. He ordered a glass of beer, and then another one.

"You'd think if a man could drink his problems away." Luke nodded toward Rosco.

Bo was busy stuffing his face with French fries. He glanced to see which direction Luke had nodded to. He had to do a double take when he thought he saw Rosco.

"What's he doin' here?" Bo was turned facing Rosco's direction.

Bo and Luke were shocked to see him. They never saw him at the Boars Nest at Night, yet alone drinking. He was downing one after another.

"I never saw 'im drink like that." Luke said.

"I never saw him drink period." Bo turned back to his cousin. "He never comes in here at night."

"Bo, we're hardly in here at night. So who knows if….." He cut himself off when he saw Daisy headed their way. He took some of Bo's fries, who gave him a look that said, "Hey, get your own." Luke nudged him and cranked his neck in Daisy's direction. Bo looked to see Daisy coming. He turned his head back to the table and hung his head down. He got back to eating his fries.

"Hey fellas." Daisy greeted her cousins as she walked over to them. She saw their expressions. If they were thinking to try and fool her it wasn't workin' "What's wrong?"Neither of her cousins answered. "Did Rosco give you another trumped up ticket? I swear I…."

"Rosco's here." Luke said, giving up. He might as well tell her.

"You might wanna keep an eye on him." Bo told Daisy.

Daisy looked around the Boar's Nest. She saw Rosco sitting in a booth in the far corner. "What is he…."

Rosco went over to the Jukebox. He selected his and Lea's song. "Always" It had been their song. The song they had danced their first and last slow dance to. He walked slowly back to his booth. The alcohol was already starting to take effect, as he was beginning to shuffle his feet and his walking a bit unbalanced.

Patsy Cline's voice filled the Boar's Nest. The sound made the customers turn their heads. Some looked at Rosco with sad looks; others didn't know what to make of it. As Rosco sat back down in the booth, they went back to their own business.

He picked up his almost empty glass. This_ one's for you Lea. _He lifted the glass up, bet then set it down. He didn't want to take another drink. He saw how folks were looking at him but he didn't care. Besides he was already drunk enough not to. Back then it had taken more than three to get him knackered. He felt like crying but the alcohol seemed to have dried up his tear ducts. He was grateful for that.

He sniffled and turned his head toward the window.

Luke slid out of his booth and was going to head toward Rosco. He couldn't stand seein' the man like this.

Bo grabbed his arm. "Leave the man be Luke." Let him alone with his grief.

Jesse entered the Boar's Nest. "Hey boys." Jesse said cheerfully.

"Uncle Jesse, what are ye doin' here?" Bo asked shocked. He grinned from ear to ear.

"In case you needed a designated driver….."_**Uncle Jesse knew that wasn't the case. But he liked to see what the young folks were up to. He didn't like being cooped up in the farm all day**__. _

"One of us might not." Luke said, his voice was an octave lower. But Jesse caught it.

He also got caught sight of Rosco. "You guys go head on home." He had seen Rosco like this once before.

"Uncle Jesse…" Bo tried to interrupt.

"Just stay out of this boys. I know how to handle this." He made his ways past chairs and tables to Rosco's booth. Onlookers watched as Uncle Jesse approached the Sheriff.

There was an exchange between the two. No one could hear what they were saying though.

"Rosco yer drunk. Let me give ye a lift home." He made sure the others couldn't hear. But Jesse knew they already knew.

"No. You see, I ain't going." Rosco had a smile on his face. But it was a, I'm too good for your help kind of smile.

"Don't be goin' making a scene out of this."

"I don't need a ride, not from anyone of you Dukes." Rosco went to stand. Jesse grabbed his arm to keep him balanced.

Jesse brought his voice down even lower. "If ye don't want Maryanne to see ye like this, you can stay at the farm. Till we get ye sobered up." He'd call Maryanne later so she wouldn't be worried.

"I said I don't need a ride. I'll….stay here." He could stay in Boss's office, if Boss wasn't there. But he was always there until an hour after closing time. Un-doubtfully he'd discuss a new scheme. He probably wouldn't remember it. Boss would just pass it off as him being stupid. He needed someone to talk to. He didn't want to talk to Jesse. It just reminded him that the older man just felt sorry for him.

"Ok, don't say I never did anything for ye." He headed back to the boy's table, looking back at Rosco.

Rosco stayed until after closing time. Daisy would stay to clean up. He would talk to her. He liked talking to her. She was always sweet on him.

"Rosco, what's wrong sugar?" Daisy walked over to him and sat down in the booth. "I didn't know you liked Patsy Cline." Daisy couldn't really stand Patsy Cline but that song he played had a beautiful meaning to it. "That song had a beautiful ring to it."

"It…..it was yer….I and your mama's song." He was silent after that and seemed to stare off into space.

She searched for the right words to say.

"Bring me some coffee wouldya?" He asked her.

"You don't like…."

"It'd help me sober up."

"She's on yer mind ain't she?" Daisy asked him, after she poured him his coffee.

"Always." He smiled.

"You know you got Maryanne now."

"I sometimes feel she's just a replacement." He waited for his Goddaughter to object. Daisy said nothing. _Oh good grief. _"Daisy, you've become like a daughter to me. A daughter I never had. Your folks told me if anything were to happen to them they wanted me to watch over ye. And I haven't been doin' that. I really messed that up didn't I?"

"Rosco don't…." What he was saying wasn't true. He had watched over her. He never put her in any real danger. His past explained why he had always gone unfazed by her shuckin' and jivin'. She had been starting to wonder.

"I've messed up a lot. I'm no good at anything." He misused his badge. He didn't deserve to wear it anymore. The only reason he was Sheriff was because of Boss. He didn't deserve it like many other things.

Sure he messed up a lot. Daisy thought. But messing up was what made you human. He was good at being a Sheriff, despite his crooked ways, coming up with schemes with Boss. He eventually did what was right. The past few weeks she had seen what kind of man he used to be.

She didn't blame him for what happened to her parents. It was their time to be in heaven. She felt sad that Rosco had had to see it happen. There was always a sadness about him. She never noticed it before. But when he was with Maryanne it seemed to go away. She understood why he'd felt guilty. He was chasing after her parents like Bo and Luke. But the only difference was that her mother and father were actually speeding. There had been no false speed traps, just a truck to stop them. They had been going too fast. In a way it was her parent's fault. Knowing Rosco wasn't a good driver he probably couldn't pull them over.

Chasing after the Dukes seemed to be more about fun than personal business. Sometimes she thought he let Bo and Luke get away from him on purpose.

"Where did I go wrong? I don't know what happed, it happened so fast…the time I got to 'em…..I've failed at everything. I failed to pull your parents over, I failed you Dukes. And I failed as your guardian."

"Rosco, if you didn't fail at anything, you wouldn't be human." She tried to make eye contact with him. But he was looking down at the table.

She put her hands on his. "Hey, I'm a big girl. I don't need anyone to look after me anymore."

"It's my responsibility to look after ye, as your Godfather. If I was a better Sheriff, your parents would still be here."

"You can't keep livin' in the past, asking what ifs. You can't blame yourself or anybody else. What happened, happened. We have to move on. That's what my folks woulda wanted. I think mama would've been the first to say it" When she spoke of her mother she noticed she had struck a nerve in Rosco. She hated to see him like this. "You can't go on blamin' yourself for the rest of your life. And I know if she was here it would break her heart to see you like this."

"If she was here I wouldn't be feelin' miserable."

"Who's to say she's not? She'll always be in our hearts Rosco, especially mine."

"Yeah, she still is here in a sense."

"Do you agree to stop blamin' yourself for what happened?"

Later, Maryanne rushed into Boss's office at the Boar's Nest. The door hit Boss.

He almost falls over but regains his balance. "Are you trying to kill me?"

The phone rings. Boss goes over to his desk and answers it.

Rosco walks toward Boss. "Say hello from Rosco."

"And Maryanne." She added walking over to Boss's desk, standing beside Rosco.

"I will not." Boss said, covering the end of the phone. Rosco was acting a little too friendly than Boss would like. "What is wrong with you were you dropped on your head?"

"Yes." Rosco said. "Up until now, no one had the good grace not to mention it."

Boss gets back to his phone call.

"You two are going to do some undercover work for the F.B.I." He said as he hung up the phone. "In the mean time Rosco, you will be looking after a Mark Jones. To see if he's uh….business worthy."

Maryanne gave him a snide look. "You mean worthy for your business?"

"Uh….police business." Boss tried ticking her. "Mark Jones just got out of jail, but says he was framed. He supposedly turned his fellow thugs in, that tried to frame him."

Maryanne nodded. "So they're all behind bars."

"Yes, every last one of 'em." Boss headed to the door. "Now I should go so you two can discuss things. Lulu has dinner waiting at home." He left the room.

_**I can't believe Maryanne fell for that. **_

"Rosco, are you drunk?" Maryanne asked.

"No, just fine." He smiled at her. He sounded extremely calm.

_Yep, he's drunk._ She thought, rolling her eyes. She put her hand on the back of her head moving her hair to one side. She bent down at Boss's desk and started looking through the papers.

He moved closer to her. "Boss, wouldn't want ye doin' that."

Their destination was Atlanta. Once they got there it apparently seemed they were being followed. Maryanne drove he firebird, using it as an undercover car. They were even dressed in regular citizen clothes.

Maryanne pulled over in a parking lot.

"What it is?" He asked her.

"I think….some was following us." She got out of the car. "I'll handle this."

He got out after her. "No ye won't. I will."

"They might have guns."

"That's why I'm an officer for." He reminded her, adjusting his gun belt around his waist.

"You almost died last time and I'm trying to protect you from gettin' shot again." Her English accent was more pronounced when she was concerned about him. "And take it from someone who's afraid of dyin', at least you should appreciate it."

"You want me to appreciate you fer dyin' for me?" He wasn't worth it. He was an old fool. She was young. "I almost died that way…It's not worth it if you want them to feel appreciated."

Maryanne's eyes widened and she shook her head with dumbfounded fury. Not at him but at herself. But she found she was partly angry at him. He wasn't talking to her like he was her husband. He was talking to her like he was talking to a child.

For a moment he thought she was going to storm off into the night without him. _Doh, Rosco, you dipstick now you've done it._ For the first time he wished his mouth had an erase button.

Then she dropped her head down. "I know you did."

"As Sheriff I'm warning you Deputy, to not do this."

She lifted her head slowly until she met his gaze. "What deputy?" She takes off her badge. "As your wife, you will listen to me Rosco P. Coltrane. As a deputy I quit. If you think it's too dangerous for me." She sighed, looking down at the badge she had placed in her palm. Her fingers closed tight around it and she looked up at him. "You gotta let me do this first."

"You can't keep pullin' this I'm your wife" on me. You got to listen to me too."

"You're not my father." She shouted. As soon as she said the words, she regretted saying it. She closed her eyes tight, wincing at her own words.

"You're relieved of your duties deputy." He was agreeing with her decision on quitting. But he wasn't on her other request. She looked into his eyes. The youthfulness in them was suddenly gone replaced with by a seriousness. Without argument she placed her badge in his hand. She stood up. Without looking back at him, she got into the car. They had had their first real fight. She hoped they would be able to talk about it and get through it later.

_**Word got around Hazzard that Rosco and Maryanne were working undercover. Well just to the Dukes. **_

Bo, Daisy, and Uncle Jesse are in the kitchen at the Duke farm. Bo and Uncle Jesse are at the table while Daisy is washing dishes.

"Those guys are dangerous." Bo said.

"Rosco's done undercover work before." Jesse advised Bo.

"It's not just Rosco. It's Maryanne I'm concerned about."

"She handled those bank robbers last time." Jesse reminded the boys. "From what Luke mentioned."

_**Luke was visiting some of his marine buddies that looked him up. They were spending the day in Hazzard. **_

"And a good punch too." Bo rubbed his arm, recalling the memory suddenly made his arm sore.

"Come on now, Bo." Daisy looked away from the dishes to Bo. "Maryanne can handle herself."

_**I hope she can.**_

"Are ye going to eat yer grits?" Uncle Jesse asked Bo.

Bo looked down at his untouched plat. "Nah. I'm just not hungry Uncle Jesse." He shoved his plate forward and got up from the table.

Uncle Jesse picks up Bo's plate and scrapes the grits onto his plate with his fork.

_**I think Uncle Jesse needs to cut back on those, or pretty soon he won't be able to fit into the General Lee.**_

Bo looks like he is about to say something. "You know somethin'? "

"What is it Bo?" Daisy asked.

"Ah, just forget it." He waves his hand and leaves the kitchen.

Jesse looks in the direction Bo had gone. "I'm worried about that boy." He sets his fork down, and picks up his plate. He turns around in his chair, holding it out to Daisy. "Daisy darlin' save these for later." He gets up from the table and leaves the kitchen as well.

_**I'd be worried about 'im too. But right now I'm more worried about Maryanne and Rosco.**_

After parking the car, Rosco unloaded Maryanne's cases as well as his own bags and lugged them inside. He paused by the elevator. "Should we…."

"I'd rather not." She did not like tight confined spaces. He seemed to too.

"On second thought forget it." He adjusted one of the suitcase straps on his shoulder. "We'll take the staires."

"Look, I can take these." She unburdened him of her luggage. She didn't want him to strain himself; right after his arm had healed up.

They got to their room. He set his luggage on the bed closest to the door. "I'll sleep here to guard the entrance."

"Whatever. I call first dibs on the bathroom." She headed toward there.

"Wait." He checked the bathroom to make sure it was empty. "Sorry, standard procedure."

She walked past him, shaking her head. She shut the door behind her.

Rosco took his pearl handed pistol out of the waist band of his pants and put it under the pillow.

Maryanne came out of the bathroom dressed in her night gown. Rosco was stunned by her. He realized how accustomed he became of her red hair and green eyes, her voice, and her unique ways, how see looked. Her features were as perfect as a porcelain doll. It looked like she could easily be broken like one. He didn't want her being a deputy. Maybe he'd try getting her a job at the Boar's Nest. She was beautiful. He couldn't even stand thinking about the men that would hit on her.

When Maryanne excited the bathroom, with her nightgown on, Rosco started at her a brief moment, then turned his gaze down to the floor. Sometimes he looked away from her, as if her beauty was too much and he was ashamed to be in her presence, to look at her with desire. But Maryanne didn't care. She was his wife he was supposed to desire her.

After his turn using the bathroom she was already in bed.

She was awakened by a noise. She sat up right in bed. On instinct she grabbed her pistol from under her pillow, pointing it straight at the door. No one was there. She lowered the gun and looked at Rosco. Her eyes adjusted enough to the dark. She saw he was sleeping. He tossed and turned and then lay still. His breath caught in his throat. Then a strange calm came on his face. She watched him toss to and fro debating on whether she should wake him. If she did would he still be Rosco? She decided that whatever was going on inside his mind was something only he could handle.

She put the gun back under her pillow. Lying back down, she pulled the blanket up to her chin. It took her awhile to fall back to sleep.

When he woke up early that morning Maryanne's side of the bed was empty. He saw her sitting on the floor at the end of the two beds.

"What are ye doin'?" He asked her.

"Doin' my exercises. I always do them in the morning." Especially now with the work she had to do. She had to do a lot of runnin.' And she had to apprehend suspects with her fists and legs. She didn't want to end up pullin' a muscle. After she exercised she'd usually walk down to the gym. She had done that also back in Tennessee. She couldn't go to the gym now as they were doing undercover work. When she did go to gym she'd let him sleep in. She'd even watch him sleep for a few moments before leaving. She was always back before he woke up.

Maryanne and Rosco entered a small club.

"Any sign of 'im?" Maryanne called over the music, her eyes scanning the crowd. She then turned to look at Rosco.

"No. You?"

"Me neither."

"Why don't we split up?" Maryanne asked.

"Are you sure that's a wise idea?" Nothing really went well when you split up.

"We'll find him faster." It wasn't really a wise idea but they had to find Mark fast before the wrong people did.

They decided to split up, Rosco taking the second floor. Maryanne stayed on the lower level.

Up in the balcony he spotted a familiar face. "Isn't that Jones's brother?"

"Yeah." She said looking up. "You go get him. I'll still with the younger one."

"Why'd you get the younger one?"

"That way it'll be fair." She examined his face. He looked offended. "Hey, do you doubt me?" She brushed a piece of hair off his forehead and kissed him on the cheek. _That's all you get till later._ She made her way through the crowd while he went to the upper level.

Maryanne saw a familiar blonde in the crowd. She approached him. "Bo Duke, what are ye doin' here?"

Bo turned around to see who was scolding him. "Maryanne of all places…." He was hoping she wouldn't catch on that he had been looking for them. But what he said, it was the honest truth He really didn't expect to find her here.

"I'm not buyin' into it. " Maryanne said.

_Something Rosco would say._ Bo thought.

_**Bo figured she'd say somethin' like that. But he knew when to keep his mouth shut…..at least at this particular moment that is.**_

Someone suddenly squeezed past Maryanne. She turned around. Another familiar face gave her apologetic look as he made his way to through the dance floor to the bar. "I think I found him."

"Who…." Instead of just standing there like an idiot, Bo decided to take off after her. He apologized to the people he ran into.

Harold Jones searched the crowd for his young brother. He thought he'd caught a glimpse of hi a couple of times but lost him amongst all the faces. He over looked the balcony, thinking it the easiest way to find him.

"Awright, freeze." He heard someone say behind him. It was an older gentleman.

"What are you doing here?" He must be a cop. Harry thought. He'd hardly say that if he'd been one of Gareth's guys.

"I'm here to keep an eye out on yer brother."

"You?" This is who they send?

Mark Jones was talking to his girlfriend, Sophie. He knew he was risking everything by coming here. Sophie squealed when two people pushed between her and Mark.

"Hey, watch who you're shovin'." Sophie said, her drink was almost knocked from her hand.

"Mark Jones?" Said a girl who had almost ran into Sophie. She was a tall girl with long red hair and beautiful green eyes. She had a British accent.

"Yes?" He turned to the other. The other was a blond haired man about his age. He was friendly looking. "Sorry do I know you?" Mark asked looking them both over.

"No." The girl said. "But that's not important right now. What is important is that you come with us."

The red haired woman spoke with such authority. He wondered if she was one of Gareth's higher operatives. The other one must be a trainee, so he would have no problem. Why bring two of them?

"What for?" Mark asked a little suspicious.

"Could you excuse us?" Maryanne asked Sophie.

Sophie just gave her a hateful look, but Mark nodded to her and she stormed off.

"Friends of yours wanted a word." Maryanne said to Mark.

"What friends?" Mark didn't have any.

"You'll find out. It's a surprise."

Mark looked from Maryanne to Bo.

"This isn't something to do with Gareth does it?" Obviously they wouldn't answer him.

"If we say yes would that make you come with us?" Bo asked.

"No." Mark said flatly. The red head glared at the blond with silver daggers.

She turned back to Mark, and her face lit up with a smile. "Well in that case, no. It has nothing to do with Gareth." Her eyes seemed to light up. If her reaction could change so drastically, she must be a Looney. Mark thought. He had to keep an eye out for her.

"I know yer innocent and ye just want to protect yer brother." Rosco said to the thug. It was all in Boss's papers.

"Oh yeah?" Harry pondered if this copper was serious.

Maryanne led Mark and Bo up another stairwell.

"Where are we going?" Mark asked.

"I told you, it's a surprise." Maryanne couldn't exactly tell him.

"You don't know where you're going."

"Ok, what's the nearest way out?" She asked if he knew where they were going.

"Don't ask me." Mark said. "I've never been around here before."

"What about there?" Bo suggested, indicating a corridor on the right.

Maryanne turned round the corridor to make sure it was safe. Two thugs blocked the end of the hallway. She edged back round the corner. "Ok, not that way!"

"Up the staires?" Bo added another suggestion.

"Why up?" Mark asked. There was a reason why they should never go up in movies.

"Do we have a choice?" Maryanne implied him that they didn't really.

"Up it is." Mark and Bo headed up the staires while Maryanne looked back down the corridor. The two thugs had turned the corner.

Rosco was still trying to talk to Harry. It was the wise thing to do to hurry up and get him out of there. "We know he's your brother 'n you're tryin' to help him. That won't do any good if they're…"

"I don't care." Harry said, he made his way toward the staires. Rosco blocked his path.

"For goodness sake, if a reasoned argument won't get ye to listen, you leave me no choice but to resort to use force."

"What?" That was the only word Harry could get out, before the cop thumped him in the face.

A man in a gray Comero waited outside the club, waiting until his two men came out of the club. They told him there were two young folks with Mark Jones.

"They're not ours Gareth." Clem said. He was short and kind of chubby. His partner Pedro was tall and thin.

"Damn." Pedro cursed. "They must be the police."

"Whoever they are, we need to get out of here." Gareth said. Clem and Pedro got into the Comero.

Mark followed the red haired girl and the friendly looking guy through a fire door and out onto the roof top terrace.

"Who are you?" Mark asked the red haired woman.

"We're police." She looked back at him as she kept climbing the staires. "Well I am." She then looked at Bo. "He just followed." She said, pointing an accusing finger at him.

"You said we're." He had to make sure it was only her and the blond that she was here with and nobody else.

"I'm here with an older guy. He's my husband." They stop and look over the railing. "And there he is." She could see Rosco escorting a drunken looking man out of the club. She smiled brightly. "Excellent law man, he is."

"Well, he won't be when that guy starts walkin' a straight line." Bo said, looking over the railing now.

Harry found himself being marched out of the club, one arm around the cop's shoulder.

He put one hand to his forehead. "Ow, my head."

"This fella had a bit too much. Just taking him home." The cop explained as they passed a security guard. The guard simply nodded. He'd seen it all before.

"What did you do to me?" Harry said groaning still holding his head.

"I had no choice but te knock you into the middle of next week." The cop said. "I think it hurt me more than it did you."

Harry withdrew his arm from his shoulder. He straightened his composure in case anyone else was watching. He didn't want Gareth and his gang to catch him at a vulnerable moment. He felt embarrassed that this older gentleman had gotten the drop on him. He opened his mouth to say something when he heard three pairs of footsteps behind him.

"Rosco." A female voice called from behind them.

Maryanne and Bo approached them, slightly out of breath.

"Two men were chasing us back there." Bo said, pointing in the direction they had came.

"Probably Gareth's guys." Harry said.

"Great, they could be anywhere." Maryanne looked at Harry. "What happened to him?"

"He got the drop on me." Harry said.

"I tried to do it gently." Rosco confessed.

"You punched him!" Maryanne said proudly.

Being reminded, the pain was suddenly back in Rosco's hand. He shook it, "Yeah that smarted."

She pulled him into an embrace.

"I'm one of the good guys." Harry said. The last thing he needed was to end up behind bars while his little brother was in danger.

"That will be determined." Maryanne said. "Since you have criminal history, we'll have to take you into custody." She turned to Rosco for further instruction. "Do I read him his rights?"

"I know my rights." Harry snapped back. "Where's Mark?"

"We left him up on the terrace."

"You what?" He started to head back toward the building.

"I'll fetch him." Maryanne pushed past him but Rosco grabbed her arm.

"No, you won't, Missy."

"Rosco…." Maryanne protested. Harry was already out of sight. Disappointed Maryanne yanked her arm back and let it hang down by her side.

"You should listen to Rosco. Let him worry about him." Bo said, even though he didn't know the full situation. "We should be focusing on going after those other fellas."

"Bo hush." Rosco held out his hand to quiet him. "You're not a deputy. You do as I say or you go home." The Hazzard County Sheriff stopped to think. "We should be focusing on going after those other fellas."

"What do we do before we stake out the bad guys hideout?" Maryanne asked her husband. She felt like she was in one of those cop shows like Hawaii-five-0.

"We should grab some dinner first. I remember this restaurant….." In turning his head toward her, Rosco caught sight of the parked cars on the opposite side of the street. A gray Comero about halfway down the block with its window rolled down.

"Do ye gotta think about food at a time like this?" Maryanne asked, but her stomach growled with hunger.

"That's a good idea." Bo himself was hungry. With food in their stomach's they wouldn't be distracted by their hunger. And they'll be able to focus on coming up with a plan.

As they walked forward, Rosco could see a glittering object through the windshield of the car. The man in the car lowered whatever he held in his hand that had reflected off the windshield.

Maryanne noticed his gaze and became wary as his steps slowed. "What is it?"

"I don't know." He avoided staring at the car so he wouldn't draw the driver's attention. "Why don't you two go back inside a minute?" He slightly nudged her back toward the club. She frowned but did as he suggested.

She grabbed hold on Bo's sleeve, pulling him along.

Keeping the Comero in his peripheral vision, he crossed the street, glancing at his watch not wanting the driver to take notice of him. When he got to the opposite sidewalk he kept a normal pace. The car remained stationary.

Gareth spotted a suspicious sight. There was an outline of three figures. One was leaning on the other, apparently drunk. The third figured motioned them on. Then a young woman and a young man approached the two figures. They were talking with Harold Jones. The one who had bee escorted out looked up. There was no mistaking who it was. So he was the traitor, not Mark. He was talking with the police. He couldn't make out their features because how dark it was outside. When they stepped more toward a street light he realized they were wearing civilian clothes. And their looks were very distinct. He wouldn't have trouble finding them again. The other figure that had escorted Harry out was an older gentlemen but he didn't reach Gareth's concern at the moment. Harry went back inside the building.

"Should we go after 'im?" Pedro asked.

"There's cops right outside ye jackass." Gareth was getting irritated. He took out his pistol from the glove box. He made sure it was loaded. There were a total of six slugs. He spun the cylinder closed. "If one of those coppers come this way, I'll let 'em have it."

"We can't go back to prison dog." Pedro tried not to show his panic.

"There's a guy checkin' on our ride." Clem noticed the older man who had been glancing their way a few seconds earlier.

_**Is anyone thinking that these two guys aren't really that loyal to have around? I think they're plum scared. It can't end well for them but at least Rosco, Bo, and Maryanne will have a disadvantage.**_

"I think he's with one of those cops." Clem said.

"Or he could be with Harry." But then Gareth got a full look at him on the rearview. "Which is probably unlikely." He looked down at the gun in his hand. "If the old man causes trouble, I'll put 'im down like a dog."

"Just leave him be." Pedro said anxiously, wringing his hands.

_**Something tells me Clem and Pedro never shot someone before. It makes you wonder were Gareth got these guys from. If there was a black market in hiring thugs, I'd say he got a bad order. **_

Rosco quickened his steps down the street. He was less than twenty feet away when the Comero's engine started.

Breaking into a run, he took out his badge and held it in front of the two passengers and driver. "Hazzard County police, git out of the car. Now!"

The car backed up a bit and then peeled away from the curb. Rosco took out his .38. The driver got the first and only shot off. Instinctively Rosco ducked, the bullet hit the store window behind him.

He cursed and ran after the Comero as it tore off up the street, its tires smoking. He kept it in view long enough to read the license plate. Rosco holstered his gun and took out his pocket book, repeating the license number out loud several times before writing it down. He returned to the club to get Maryanne and Bo, but they were already coming outside. His face must've told her how angry he was.

"What happened?" She asked.

"I think I just let a potential suspect get away."

"The F.B.I. should be sending someone by now." Maryanne looked up and down the street, then at Rosco. She caught the look on his face. It was a kind of a grimace. "What?"

He winced as if the words had cut through him like a knife.

"Uh….Maryanne?" He pondered whether he should tell her. On the other hand she was his wife and she was a deputy. "The F.B.I ain't comin'."

"The F.B.I ain't…" She began to repeat. Her eyes widened with realization. Boss had snuckered her. "That J.D. Hogg….."

"What's this all about?" Bo asked. If Boss had sent them here undercover and not the F.B.I what were they doing here?

"Boss wanted to make sure this Jones was suitable for business."

_**Rosco was in deep doo-doo. **_

"I can't believe this." Maryanne said. "Why didn't you tell me about what Boss was up to?"

"Maryanne you were right there." Rosco reminded her.

Maryanne watched him from the passenger's seat of her Firebird. Bo sat in the backseat. She wasn't comfortable with driving after what he pulled last time he drove it. That jump could have seriously damaged the under carriage. But she had to admit it was sort of fun.

They pulled over at the fast food place. Maryanne and Bo went inside to order.

_**Rosco put out an APB on the gray Comero. A few minutes later they got a response back from the F.B.I.**_

Just as the response was finished Maryanne and Bo came back with the food.

"Well?" Maryanne asked Rosco as she got into the car.

"The Comero was a rental. The F.B.I is going to look up the renter's ID and bring them in for questioning."

"That'll take care of Gareth." Maryanne said relived. "But we still got to make sure Mark and Harry are alright."

"No, we're getting out of here. " Rosco raised his voice. He was treating her like a child again.

"I still don't understand a thing that's going on here." Bo said. All he wanted was an explanation.

"Boss tricked Maryanne in going with me to track down a Mark Jones….."

"To use for his schemes." Maryanne added. "I can't believe I fell for it." She crossed her arms.

"Would you stop actin' like a child?" He shouldn't have let her get caught up in this in the first place.

"Me, acting like a child?" She asked appalled. "It's not a difficult thing for you. You're the one being childish."

Rosco gripped the steering wheel his knuckles turning white. "Well of course I am. There's no point in being grown up if you can't act childish sometimes."

"Then why are you accusing me…."

"Guys, you should deal with some other time." Bo sensed the tension between the two. He was being ignored. It was like he wasn't even there.

"I'm worried about ye." He turned his face toward the window. The only way to get her to listen to him was to make her really, really mad at him. If he could get her to consider going back to Hazzard, he'd stay here and finish Boss's orders.

"Don't you think I'm not worried?" She asked him.

"What did I get myself into?" Bo asked himself out loud. He was still ignored.

If she was that worried about him he'd let Bo stay with him. He and Bo could handle their own.

"What, you're yelling at me, trying to get me mad so I'd go on back home?" She shocked him with her words. She knew what he was trying to do.

She knew him and it scared him how well she knew him. Could he be able to let her get closer if she knew this much about him and made him feel this way?

"It's not going to happen. I'm not a child, I'm your wife. We do things together, even on the job. Boss's job or not. I'm not leaving while there's an innocent person out there to protect." She also had a plan that could blow up in Boss's face. If they could trust Mark and Boss hired him for a scam, she and the Dukes could use him to their advantage. That'll toss things ups a bit.

He was no longer shocked or scared. He found himself proud of her. She had spoken those words like a true deputy. But she had only been working for the law enforcement for only a few weeks. He had been in law enforcement for 27 years. She did not understand that the glories of it could blindside her from the reality.

"I'm proud of you." He said to her. He didn't want to get her hopes up too high but he had to at least let her know.

She smiled at him. She was always seeking his approval. She didn't know why but it made her feel good about herself. Being a deputy made her feel closer to him and it felt like it was the only way to please him.

As they pulled out of fast food parking lot, the F.B.I called back on the CB.

"This is agent Clark Lindstrom. We found out who rented that car." The agent's voice came over the CB. "We want you and your Deputy down here at headquarters….."

Rosco was about to hang up the CB mike but Maryanne grabbed his hand. "Are you crazy?" She asked him. You can't hang up on the F.B.I. What was he thinking?

"See now what you did? Now we're involved with the F.B.I." That was the last thing he wanted.

"You put the APB on the Comero."

"That was your part Rosco." Bo said. He was leaning forward in the back seat, his arms in his lap.

_**Poor Bo doesn't catch a break does he? He just keeps getting ignored. But he knows one thing for sure, he'd never get in a car alone with Maryanne and Rosco again.**_

They arrived at the Atlanta F.B.I headquarters. Bo stayed in the Firebird.

Maryanne and Rosco were seated in what must have been an interrogation room. Agent Clark sat down across from them.

Sensing this was no time for chitchat, Rosco got straight down to business. "Who'd the car belong to?"

"As you understand we couldn't say anything over the radio. Anyone could have been listening in." The agent said. The Sheriff and the Deputy looked at him eagerly. "The car was rented by a Gareth Roberts."

"Did ye track him?" Rosco asked.

"We didn't have to." Agent Lindstrom pushed the paper that lay in front of them forward.

The headline read,

**Could Killer STILL BE AT LARGE, AFTER SERVING SENTENCE?**

**G-man no stranger to death **

Boss had done it again, Maryanne thought. Was he trying to get Rosco killed? He would one of these days if his scams were becoming dangerous.

Another Agent entered. Clark introduced him. He didn't need to. "Sheriff Coltrane this is Agent Albert Sinclair."

"No need for introductions, Agent Lindstrom." Albert glanced at the Sheriff with cool cold eyes.

_**Albert Sinclair. He went to the police academy with Rosco in Atlanta back in the day. And he was one mean puppy. He always gave Rosco trouble. It'd be no surprise to Rosco if he hadn't changed at all. **_

"What I don't get is why they sent a lawman with an itchy trigger finger."

Rosco brought his voice down so only Maryanne could hear. "At least he's through."

"Given your background, Sheriff Coltrane I wonder what gives you the right to be here at all." Agent Sinclair had looked up the Sheriff's past. He used to be the best in Georgia till his pension was taken away. He turned his attention to the young deputy. "This your deputy?"

"Yeah." Maryanne said.

"I'm surprised no harm has come to her yet. This line of work is dangerous, especially for a woman." He glanced back at Maryanne.

"A woman has the right to wear a badge and carry a gun as much as man does these days." Maryanne piped up. "Or do you still live in the dark ages?"

Al smirked. "Believe what you want." He could tell she wasn't American. It wouldn't surprise him if they were hiring her illegally. "Are you a citizen of the U.S.?"

"Yes. I. Am." She said through gritted teeth. _**Anyone else want to smack that smirk off his face? I know Maryanne does.**_

Albert didn't bother with further proof. He'd wait till next time they were in his jurisdiction to put that to the test. Right now, he was focused on humiliating Rosco.

Rosco strived to remain civil and not let this muck get the better of him. "I assure you no harm has come to her while she's been in my department."

"It could be only a matter of time."

Agent Lindstrom finally intervened. "Agent Sinclair, whatever grudge you have against Sheriff Coltrane, I ask you to put it behind you. I'll not have you harass them fine fellow law enforcement officers."

Maryanne nodded smugly at the statement.

"Why don't you let the big guys handle it and you go on back to the backwater you call a town?"

"Now wait a minute. What gives you right…."

"We're not questioning your commitment. But we've lost some of our people to this guy." Agent Clark explained.

"Maybe it's for the best." Maryanne said. "That we're not involved in this case." This guy has killed people. And she didn't want to put Rosco through that. Not right after what happened with Tyler.

They drove silently to the hotel to get their bags. Maryanne went in to check out.

Agent Lindstrom came on the CB as the Firebird parked in Hotel parking lot. "Don't pack your bags yet, Sheriff." He said. "You're back on the case."

"That was quick." Rosco was in disbelief. "Did Sinclair die?"

"No. No one did." His voice had a "now's not a time to joke about that." tone.

Rosco cleared his throat and apologized.

"Rosco," Bo said climbing in the front seat. "If Maryanne finds out you're back on this case, she'll have kittens."

"She'll have even more if she catches you in the passenger seat." He looked out the window and saw Maryanne headed their way with the bags.

"We think he tried to kill Mark Jones. Gareth's two partners for hire were seen staking out one of his hideouts." Agent Clark said. "Give me your twenty when you're close to gates bridge, it's a sub division on Godricks Hallow."

"Ten four over." Rosco hung up the CB just as Maryanne came up to the car. Bo climbed back in the back seat.

"Gareth and his men might have been seen staking out one of Marks hideouts." Rosco told her. "If we get over there…."

"Oh, no. It's too dangerous." Forget it. It could put both of them mortal danger.

"You said you weren't leaving you had an innocent person to protect remember?' He backed out of the parking space.

Maryanne opened her mouth to protest. But then a smile spread across her face. She buckled up her seat belt as they drove out of the parking lot.

They arrive at Godrick's Hallow. Bo and Maryanne climb through a broken window. Rosco stayed in the car.

Mark heard a noise coming from one of the back bedrooms. He picked up a bat by the staircase. He saw two figures coming down the hallway. He leaned up against the wall waiting for them to come into the living room. He jumped out and raised the bat in the air. He stopped when he realized who they were. The red head screamed and the blonde dragged her back a bit. Mark lowered his bat.

"What are you coppers doing here?" Mark asked.

"Why were you waving a bat around?" Maryanne's heart was still beating hard in her chest. "Like that's going to be a lot of help when the baddies have guns."

"It was the only think I could find." Mark confessed.

"And we're not coppers. I'm a deputy." She corrected Mark. "Like I said, he just tagged along. And we have names."

"What are your names if you don't mind me asking?"

"Bo and Maryanne." Maryanne introduced.

"Where's the other one? " Mark asked. He avoided using the term copper. He didn't want to tick Maryanne off.

"The other one what?" Maryanne frowned not understanding what he meant.

"Cop. The much older one." _**Mark was wonder like everyone else. What a young lass like her was doing with someone like Rosco. **_

"He's a Sheriff and my husband. And he's not that old." Maryanne said defensively. "He's only forty-eight."

"Fifty-three." Bo corrected.

"Who's counting?" Maryanne chirped, reminding him it didn't matter to her.

All of a sudden a blast of gunfire filled the air outside. Mark spotted out of the corner of his eye a gray Comaro.

"Stay away from the windows." Mark cautioned them.

"I'm a very cautious when it comes to windows." Mark and Bo look at her strangely. "You can catch a cold from a draft."

"You are a strange one." Mark said.

"Stranger than Rosco?" Bo asked. Maryanne gave Bo an offended look.

"I don't have time not to be strange." Maryanne said, walking forward.

Mark stepped in front of her having heard another noise. Gripping onto the bat he still had in his hand, he tiptoed forward. The noise was coming from the bedroom. Another figure was by the window. Mark brought up the bat to swing at the intruder.

"Hey, you nutty." Maryanne rushed over to Rosco bending down next to me. "That's my husband."

"I didn't know." Mark said. "It was a reflex. I was a bit jumpy."

"Everyone's a bit jumpy." Maryanne said. Rosco was alright just a bit dazed.

"I didn't hit him too hard, just enough to stun him. It could've been one of Gareth's."

"Since when do just want to stun the guys that want to kill you." Bo caught some things

"There's F.B.I. at my door. I could go to jail for murder. If I'm anything I'm a thief, not a murdered."

_**Mark was telling the whole truth. His record was a clean slate. He had just fitted himself in with the wrong crowd. When he realized he turned them in and got a price tag on his head in return.**_

Outside the F.B.I apprehended Gareth, Pedro and Clem.

They came out of the house when everything was clear.

"If you're ever in Hazzard you can call this number." Maryanne handed him a card with the number to the Hazzard County Police Department number on it. "Ask for me or Rosco."

"What are you going to do?" Mark asked her.

"Oh you know, send caution to the wind." She headed to her Firebird where Bo and Rosco were waiting. "You better watch out when Maryanne Coltrane's around."

_**Maryanne, Bo, and Rosco got back to Hazzard just fine. But Rosco didn't seem that way. **_

_**Enos and Cletus had written to the lawman of the year award chair board a week back. And Rosco finally received the lawman of the year award for his actions, being wounded in action by saving Daisy's life. Everyone hoped that would cheer him up. Maryanne was the only one who saw that it didn't. **_

It was morning. The Coltrane house had slept restfully. Maryanne poured herself some coffee, thinking about Rosco. He had had a nightmare last night. And he had been doing a lot of crying. He slept out on the couch the rest of the night after the nightmare had woken him. She doubted he had gotten much sleep. He shuffled sleepily into the kitchen and greeted her good morning. Catching the sight of him, it was as if he hadn't had a decent sleep in days, his eyes were red from the crying. He left the kitchen after he had poured himself a glass of buttermilk. She wanted to kiss him and tell him everything would be alright but something held her back.

_**On the other hand, they found they possibly found a friend for life with Mark Jones. They could call him up anytime and tell him Boss he was truth worthy. **_

Maryanne and Rosco tell Boss that Mark can be trusted.

_Woodsburough Cemetery_

Rosco paused, taking in a deep breath. He had to dig down deep to find the courage to pull himself together for Maryanne's sake. _**It took a lot of effort to find the strength to tell her. He told her what happened.**_

"It's hard to say goodbye." She said, placing a hand on his shoulder. She looked down at the gravestone, briefly glancing back at him. His eyes held a blank stare.

"Yeah, I know it is. It's a word I can't even say." He hated goodbyes. Goodbyes could possibly mean you'd never see that person again. And if he said goodbye to Joe and Lea…..he just couldn't do it.

"You have to though, Rosco. It's been 18 years." He needed closure but he was just too stubborn. Lord knew she could be sometimes too.

"Maybe someday I will. But I'm not ready yet." He was never going to be ready.

"You can't continue to grieve forever." She was afraid that if he did, it would be the death of him.

"That's what everyone keeps sayin." Jesse's said it. Daisy's said it. "I don't know why they…" Bother, he was going to say but Maryanne answered him before he could finish.

"Because they care about you." They all did.

"Who'd care for an ol' fool like me?"

"I do. And you're not a fool Rosco."

"I don't plan on grievin' forever. Just…it'll never go away." If he said goodbye, it would go away. He'd become used the feeling of regret after their deaths, the loneliness that followed. He had sunk so low, he didn't believe Lea and Joe would forgive him, even in death. "I'll never be able to deal with what happened. You weren't there. You don't know what it's like….."

"People risk their lives every day in the kinda work you do….accidents happen."

She didn't understand. He wasn't even supposed to be there. "I wasn't on duty. I was chasin' 'em like I do…." Bo and Luke. "They weren't as good a drivers as them. "

"It coulda happened to you."

She was right. It could have. "If I took the sort cut I was plannin' on, I would have…..I woulda hit it head on." He had deserved to die. Not them. Why couldn't God have taken him that day instead of them? Screw it that it wasn't his time. If he could go back, knowing what he did now. He'd take that sort cut, save their lives, like he had Daisy's by jumping in front of the bullet. A 15,000 ton truck was no bullet but it might as well been.

He had it all, when Joe and Lea had been alive. He had had a good life. He wondered if they hadn't died and he still lost his pension, would he still had taken the road he gone down? In a figurative sense, taken the corrupted path. Would Lea have tried talking to him like he had to her so many times when she was in need? Everything good in his life was taken away the day they died. When he had thought he couldn't lose anymore, it had only gotten worse.

Since he had meant Maryanne, everything seemed good again. But he couldn't let go of his friends.

"If I hadn't been there, maybe they would still be here. It's my fault. I know it is." He might not have caused him to die. But he had some part in it. If he hadn't been so sinful God wouldn't have taken Joe and Lea from him. The phrase was true, you don't know what you got until it's gone. "Everyone keeps sayin' it's not."

"It isn't."

"I want to be left alone."

"I don't want you to be left alone."She was afraid to leave him alone.

"I'll be fine. I just want to be left alone." He didn't really want her to leave. He just didn't want her to see him like this any longer.

She hugged him and then started back to the patrol car. He stopped her.

"I still can't help but think there's somethin' I coulda done."

She turned back to him. "There wasn't. You have to move on with your life. It's ok to let them go. You have me now."

"I know that. Now that I got ye, I'm afraid of losin' ye."

"What do you mean?"

"Police work is very serious business." It wasn't only the police business he was concerned about. She could leave him any old time see wanted. She was young. She could find someone better. He reached into his pocket his hands on her badge. "I shouldn't a treated you like a child. I had little faith in ye. I should believed in you a lot more." You deserve to wear this." He placed the badge in her hand. "But it's gonna worry the heck outta me."

"Rosco..." Her voice was soft with emotion. She looked at the badge and then up into his eyes. They weren't sad. They were filled with gratitude and solace that she had been longing for. "Could you..." She handed him back the badge and he pinned it onto her shirt.

" You don't have to worry about me leaving. I ain't ever going anywhere." She hugged him again and they stayed in an embrace.

_**I think God made 'em cross paths at the right time. Without Maryanne who'd know where Rosco would be. **_

They came away from the embrace. She put her hand out to him. He looked at it a second as if it was some strange foreign object. He hesitated but then took it. She motioned toward the pathway with her head. "Come on." She walked backward leadin' him forward. The she moved to walk beside him. They headed back to Rosco's patrol car just as it started to rain.


	11. Enos Love Daisy

Chapter 11: Enos Loves Daisy

-Where it all started. Learn about Enos and Daisy's childhood and how he fell in love with Daisy.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Dukes of Hazzard or the characters, the WB does. I wish I owned the Dukes, that way I could make a decent prequel movie and do the Dukes, and the original actor's justice. We can only hope somebody does one day.

AN: Yes, I used some things from the Dukes of Hazzard Reunion movie. I was unhappy with the ending (Enos and Daisy almost got married again.) So this is how it would have gone if Daisy and Enos had gotten married in the series. And I added cute little one shots about their childhood/teenage hood.

September 9th, 1967

_**It had been 2 months two months since Daisy's parents died. She'd been living with Uncle Jesse and her cousin's Bo and Luke. It was the beginning of September and that meant the beginning of the School year in Hazzard. **_

Uncle Jesse's voice called from the kitchen. "Daisy, ye don't want to be late fer yer first day of school."

After breakfast, Bo and Luke were the firsts out the door to catch the school bus. Uncle Jesse shouted after them. They were supposed to wait at the bus stop with Daisy.

Daisy walked into the classroom and found a table in the back corner of the room. It was her first day of first grade. There were two other kids sitting at the table with her. One was a girl with blond hair and one was a boy with brown slicked back hair. She didn't recognize them. Everybody knew everyone in Hazzard but Daisy had only just moved there to live with her Uncle Jesse.

The boy sitting across from her was looking down at the table, staring at his hands. The blond girl was twirling a braid with her fingers, as she looked out the window. When she sat down at the table, the boy looked up, staring at her as if she had a third eye.

The blond looked at her and smiled. "Hello. I'm Bertha Jo. What's your name?"

"Daisy. Daisy Duke." When the blond girl didn't seem to want to learn more about her, Daisy turned to look at the boy. As soon as she looked at him he blushed and ducked his head. "What's your name?"

"E…Enos Strate."

"Nice to meet you Enos Strate."

_**Enos had never been so nervous and excited in his entire life. Today he was going over to Daisy's house. After three weeks of sitting together at the same table every morning, they had struck up an odd little friendship.**_

Enos is in a toy pedaling car, chasing Bo in his.

_**Is it me or is this foreshadowing something?**_

_**Yep, they had a strong friendship, even when they were teenagers. **_

1975

Daisy leaned over the table and planted a kiss on Hughie Hogg's cheek. Enos glanced over at the table.

He felt hot and shaky all over. Enos had never felt this kind of feeling before. His hands were clammy and he felt sick to his stomach. He had never felt so angry in his whole life. He was jealous. He had never been jealous of anyone or anything during his long fourteen years. This feeling was utterly new to him. He didn't like the way he was feeling, not one bit. It took him a bit to realize that just last year, he had fallen in love with Daisy Duke.

"Daisy Duke. What were ye doin' with Hughie Hogg?" Enos asked as they walked out of the Boar's Nest.

Daisy shrugged. "He's sixteen. He has a car." She shielded her eyes from the sun and glanced at Enos, trying to read his expression. "Now, you wouldn't be jealous would ye Enos?"

Enos found himself blushing. Daisy smiled. Hughie walked out of the Boar's Nest.

"Are ye ready Hughie?" Daisy asked him.

"Hey, kiddo." Hughie greeted Enos. He put his arm around Daisy and they walked to his car.

Enos didn't see but Daisy shrugged Hughie's arm off her shoulder. She looked back but the door to the Boar's Nest swung shut as Enos went back inside.

1977

_**Daisy was having fun at the skating rink. Yeah, Hazzard used to have one, until Boss cut its funds for their skating competitions and it had to close up. **_

Hughie followed Daisy to the skating rink. Hughie was those kind of guys that had to control his girls every move. But Daisy wasn't even his girlfriend. It didn't stop him though.

_**Whatever he's up to can't be no good. He's about to spoil Daisy's fun. **_

As he entered the skating rink, he spotted Daisy and was going to walk over to her. She was skating with another guy. He seemed to close to Daisy, his hands around her waist. He approached them, purposely bumping into the guy, causing him to fall.

"Hey, watch were you're going, man." The skater said, looking up at who had run into him.

"Hey, watch your hands, man." Hughie mimicked him.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Daisy asked, surprised to see him.

"I stopped by your house." Hughie lied. "Bo and Luke said you'd be here."

"What have you been doing all summer?"

"I got a new place. We can ride up there in my Chevy, carryin' on like we used to."

"Ohh I can't. I promised Julie I'd do the dance contest with him later." _**Julie was the fella Hughie just knocked down. Odd name for a guy ain't it?**_ "He's been teaching my new tricks. I can shoot the moon."

"Shoot the moon. What about the Olympics huh?" Hughie said sarcastically "Or are you took good for that?"

"Just leave me alone, Hugh, would ye?" Daisy skated away from Hughie.

Daisy walked outside of the skating rink. She saw Enos. _**Daisy told Enos what happened with Hughie. He didn't show it but Enos was now greatful. **_

She and Enos were seventeen. Now that Daisy was pretty much a woman, the teenage boys always had their eyes on her. But Enos always treated her with respect.

She lost her balance on her skates and fell.

"Are you alright?" He bends down where she had fallen.

"Yeah." She put her hair up in a pony tail. "I just got distracted. My hair got caught in my lip gloss." They look into each other's eyes for what seemed like forever. And Enos was thinking it was now or never. He leaned forward and kissed her.

Daisy backed up from him, staring in disbelief. Out of all the guys that had tried to take advantage of her, she'd never thought Enos would be one of them. _**She was too upset about Hughie to see that Enos wasn't taking advantage of her. He just wanted to show her how much he cared.**_

"After all that's happened today… I thought I could trust you." She got up and ran down the street.

_**Poor Enos had the wrong timing. Because he did, he was always hesitant how he showed his feelings for Daisy later. **_

_**He was thinking of that memory when Daisy had become a deputy and he had fallen down a hill and sprained his ankle. **_

1980

He had to tell her that he loved her. That one day at the skating rink, it was what he had felt. He handed her his gun. He didn't want her after the thief's unarmed. He had to tell her if anything happened to her, or to him.

"Take my gun an' go after 'em." He picked up his gun that he had dropped.

"E..Enos I can't leave ye here in the middle of nowhere." She looked off in the distance behind her than back at Enos.

"Take my gun Daisy an' go after 'em." Enos repeated. "You're a police officer now. You took an oath. It's important to get them criminals back behind bars before the hurt innocent people. Now, take my gun."

Daisy nodded. She took the gun and climbed slowly down the hill.

"Be careful Daisy." That was what she was doing. She wanted to shout back at him that she was. But there was no point in arguing him. She had to get after those criminals. The faster she did she could get help for Enos.

"Daisy?" He had to tell her now.

"Yeah?"

"I just want te take another look atcha." As he said the words, her eyes lit up. If only she could see the look on her face right now. Maybe its wake her up and she'd realize how much she loved Enos. "Cause you never know how this is going to turn out you know?" With business no one knew.

"Enos, what are you talkin' about?" She had no clue.

"I just wanted you to know that I…." Would she storm away from him again? Like that night he had kissed her when they were 16. "I really care for ye." He tried showing that, and he was going to tell her before but she had run off.

Daisy smiled, putting the gun in her holster. "Enos." She jogged over to him. She bent down and put her hands on his shoulders. "Ain't nothin' going to happen to either of us." She looked into his hazel eyes, not wanting his to worry. "Now you sit tight and I'll be back for ye." She kissed him. But it was a kiss you gave a relative. "Ok?" She went on her way.

_**That, friends and neighbors was the start of somethin' else. And you're about to see where it leads. **_

March 18, 1985

Daisy was driving Dixie when Enos came on the CB. He wanted her to meet her out at Hazzard Swamp.

"It's urgent." He told her.

Daisy hung up the CB. What on earth would Enos…_**Hazzard Swamp; no one went to Hazzard swap unless….**_She shook her head. _**Enos was probably chasing Bo and Luke and they had gone into the swamp. She prayed that wasn't the case. Most folks that went into the Swamp never came back out. They say the fumes are Hazzardous to your health. But that was just a myth they told kids so they'd stay away from there. **_

Her stomach was starting to do flips. She kept telling herself that it was nothing. She arrived at the swap. Enos had set up a little picnic for them.

_**Hazzard swamp had a magical effect, cause folks had used it for serious courtin' for generations. **_

"I just love this old swamp." Daisy said, looking around. She wondered if this was where her mother and father spent so many times together. Back then it had been a make out place for teenagers. No a day's no one hardly even came up here because it was deemed "too dangerous." Well as long as you stayed away from the swamp.

"Daisy, I never told you this." Daisy looked at him. He wished she hadn't she could kill with those eyes. He wanted to be honest with her before he asked her the question. When he came back to three years ago, he had told the others it was because he missed Hazzard. That was half the truth. "Remember when I came back from the L.A.P.D and I told ye it was because I missed Hazzard?"

"What'd make ye bring this up all of a sudden?" Daisy asked.

"I just been thinkin…the real reason why I came back was because I missed you."

"You did?" She had thought it was because he was homesick and he missed his friends. She didn't imagine it was because he was lovesick.

Enos nodded. "I've taken me three years to get up the courage." He fished in his pocket and pulled out a small black box "I've been waiting for this moment since the 7th grade….I've been saving up for this while I was in L.A…..I couldn't give it to ye before…Daisy Duke will you marry me?" He opened the box.

"Enos!" Daisy said thrilled. Her eyes sparkling as bright as the diamond ring.

"Please, don't say it so sudden Daisy."

"Oh, Enos." She gives him a hug. She takes the ring out of the box but accidently dropped it. "Oops, I'm sorry."

"That's ok Daisy, I'll find it." He starts looking for it among the grass and weeds. Daisy helps him. Enos found the ring after a few seconds. "I got it."

They stare into each other's eyes, looking as if they're about to kiss.

Daisy suddenly jumped up with excitement. "I gotta tell Uncle Jesse and the boys." She started heading toward where her jeep was parked.

"Wait." Enos called after her, getting to his feet. "I didn't get an answer yet."

Daisy stopped and looked over her shoulder. "Yes Enos. Of course I'll marry you. Now come on now, let's hurry."

_**Now I told you that swamp was magical.**_

_**While that was going on, Boss was getting for the race on Saturday. He'd hired professional drivers, who had no problem playing dirty. Boss was paying them twice the going rate. **_

Rosco and Boss were at Cooter's garage.

_**I bet you're thinkin' why Cooter didn't catch on to this. He's not in town right now. He's taking care of a sick relative in Atlanta. So his cousin L.B. was working the garage but he was out on call. Sounds like a coincidence that L.B. isn't there when Boss and Rosco are. **_

"No one can beat the General Lee." Rosco told Boss. "Remember Boss?"

"Do you really think that old clunker can beat the double zero?"

"The double zero?"

Boss nodded toward the race car driver standing by his race car that was covered with a tarp. The racers name was Cam Johnson. He wore a black leather jacket, and had shoulder length blond hair. At Boss's cue he lifted off the tarp, revealing a purple race car with the numbers 00 on the sides.

There was another vehicle just like it right next to it.

"You're gonna enter two vehicles dressed alike?" Rosco asked Boss.

"I…" Boss scowled at Rosco. "No, you dumbbell, I'm gonna switch the cars. Cam."

The blond haired race car driver lifted the hood. His assistant came over. He looked tough.

"Take a look Sheriff." Cam said.

"That's not a stock car engine." Rosco said examining the engine.

"No." Cam's assistant said. "That's a super turbo racin' engine and nothin' can catch it."

"The General is over 9 years old and over the hill." Rosco motioned with his hand. He paused and but on his business face. "Wait, a minute, that's illegal."

"You're very quick."

"They're gonna check the engine when you take it up to the starting line."

"No they won't be checking this engine." Boss said, walking over to the duplicate double zero. "They'll be checking this engine. Ain't no way them Duke boys are gonna win!" Boss said

"You're gonna switch the cars! I love it, I love it."

Daisy hurried home to tell her family the news.

Bo turned in his chair to look at her. "Daisy, Enos Strate?" He wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed. "Are you sure?" They were going to get married a few weeks ago but their wedding had been canceled because Enos got hives. He thought that they would have put the idea of getting married behind them.

"Well, it's not like she doesn't know him. " Luke said. They had all been friends growing up. And honestly Luke couldn't see anyone else right for Daisy.

"I always loved him." Daisy said. "I guess I didn't see it because….well he was always there."

"When's the wedding?" Luke asked.

"Saturday." Daisy answered.

"This Saturday?" Luke asked. They couldn't get married this Saturday. "That's the day of the race."

"After the race we can have a big get together at the Boar's Nest. All of Hazzard will be there. We want everybody to come."

"You'll have the biggest wedding in the history of Hazzard." Bo said excitedly. He and Luke stood up from the table, gathering around Daisy in a group hug.

"You fellas are going to help out." Daisy told Bo and Luke.

"Yeah." They both said. _**They'd been hoping to get out of that one.**_

"We'll do anything you want." Uncle Jesse said. He was happy that his girl was finally getting married.

"Enos wants Rosco to marry us." Daisy said. "And Bertha Jo is gonna be my maid of honor." Wedding plans were already racing through her head. She'd drive everyone nuts before the week was out.

"You remember Bertha Jo." Bo said to Luke. He couldn't forget her. She was one of Daisy's closest friends and she always used to beat Luke in boxing, even arm wrestling. One year Luke had gone against her in a boxing match. "Remember she threw you out the window in the third ring?"

Luke shrugged, not showing any shame. "Cured my fear of heights."

"It'll be the biggest wedding Hazzard's ever seen." Uncle Jesse said, agreeing with her decision. "Where is he?"

"Oh he had to go home and lay down." Daisy said, smiling. Jesse gave a slight laugh that made Daisy laugh. They shared one last embrace.

_**Daisy and Enos entered the Sheriff's office later that day to get their marriage license. **_

"Rosco, can you run over to the courthouse and pick up a marriage license?" Daisy asked Rosco.

"Who's getting married?" He asked.

"We are." Daisy said. "Me and Enos."

"We'd like you to perform the ceremony Sheriff." Enos said.

"Well I guess I could." Rosco said happily.

"Oh, thank you Rosco." Daisy said as she hugged him. She left the office.

"We appreciate it Sheriff." Enos said gratefully. He hurried out of the office after Daisy. "Yeehoo." He shouted cheerfully from the hallway.

"Boss always said that….Enos would find a wife before I do." Rosco said, suddenly feeling sad.

They race was about to start. Bo and Luke were running late because Daisy was kidnapped by Cam because she overheard them talking about their plan. Enos came to her rescue. But Bo and Luke were the ones that had ended up coming to their rescue.

The race started just a second after the Dukes arrived in the General Lee.

"If we don't win this race, people are gonna be upset if Daisy isn't dressed by the time we crossed the finish line." Bo said. The double zero was coming up behind them.

"You want me to dress for my weddin in this car, while you're racin?"

"You got a better idea Daisy?" Bo suddenly smiled and laughed. He was imagining Daisy trying to struggle into her dress.

"I can help ye Daisy." He moved closer to her.

"Now don't you peep Enos." Daisy scolded him.

The 00 was gaining up on them. Cam side swiped the General.

_**He was in a hurry because he had to beat the Dukes to do the ole bait and switch. He had to make sure they were far behind so they couldn't see them switch the cars.**_

The double zero was far ahead, no longer in the Duke boys sight.

"The only way we're gonna beat 'em now is if we go Cross County."Bo said.

_**He means off road folks and using all the short cuts. **_

_**While Cam and his assistant switch cars, L.B. saw what was going on. The farm they just drove past was where he was called out the second time that week. Boss didn't think about that. I guess he miscalculated. **_

L.B. snuck up to the duplicate double Zero before Cam could drive off. Cam climbed out of the car. L.B. decked him and climbed into the car. Just then the General Lee was headed in that direction.

"Hey, Luke do you see what I see?" Bo asked Luke as he saw the

L.B. climbed out the window half way, sitting on it. He told them they pulled the bait and switch. They must get a move on if they wanted to beat 'em.

Bo went on driving.

"What are we gonna do about sticks river?" Daisy asked. She now had her wedding dress on.

"We're gonna jump it that's what." Bo said gripping the steering wheel.

"We've done it before."

"When we were younger…." Bo was only 17 when they had jumped Sticks River, the General Lee's first jump.

"And dumber." Luke said. He and Bo both smiled.

As they approach the river, Enos closes his eyes and puts his hands over his face.

_**That boy is missing out on a lot. **_

They jump make the jump.

The last short cut they took led them back to Hazzard square. Cam was racing toward the finish line.

"How'd he get here so darn fast?" Bo pondered.

"They must've fitted on of 'em with a faster engine." Luke said.

"Well I'm not gonna let 'im win." Bo stepped on the gas, cutting Cam off. Everyone cheered when the General crossed the finish line, except Boss of course.

"No, no, no, no." Boss says upset; he takes off his hat and throws it on the ground. He turns to Rosco."What are you cheering for? I'll cut back your fifty percent."

Rosco picks up Boss hat. "Here's yer hat."

It was dirty. "That's coming out of your pay."

_**After the race, the wedding was taking place, as planned. So far there were no interruptions. **_

The Boar's Nest was decorated. There yellow and white daisies everywhere and the whole town were there.

Cam and his assistant enter the Boar's Nest. Bo and Luke go to handle them.

"I want a rematch." Cam said.

"Can't ye see there's a wedding going on?" Bo asked, his voice had a threatening tone. It was one thing to cheat in the race but to interrupt a perfectly good wedding like this?

"I can see that." Cam said snidely. His buddy smirked.

"Why don't you fellas leave?" Luke asked politely. "I'll even show ye the door." Luke started toward the door but Cam grabbed his am.

"I don't think so." Cam said.

On reflex Luke raised his fist and punched Cam in the face. _**Maybe I spoke to soon.**_

Everyone was looking now. Enos looked at Daisy, who was still holding her hands. They had been about to exchange their vows.

"Daisy, if you'll excuse me." Enos glanced toward the fight that had broken out.

A smile spread on Daisy's face. "Sure."

Enos joined the fight. He approached Cam who had a broken bottle in his hand about to hit him with it instead of Luke. "Now that's not fair, Sonny Jim." He knocked the bottle from Cam's hand.

Other folks had joined in the fight. A biker fella was trying to hit Luke. Luke ducked and the biker ended up hitting Cam.

Bo was handling Cam's assistant.

"I order ye te freeze for obstructin' the peace." Rosco orders over the commotion.

Everyone stops what they are doing and looks at Rosco. Not knowing who he was speaking to, they resume their positions.

Enos throws Cam and he lands at Rocco's feet.

Cam tried to get up but Daisy walks over to him bending down, she punches him in the face. He lies back down on the ground.

Luke grabs a customer that tries to hit him and slides him across the bar. Cam's assistant approached Luke. Enos steps in to help. "Go on up there Enos."

Enos went back over to Daisy.

Cam's assistance swings a fist at Luke. Bo jumped at the assistant sending him to the floor. He grabs him by the jacket, pulling him up, spinning him around he throws the assistant out the window.

"Here's a dollar." Rosco took out a dollar bill and let it fall onto Cam. "Go and get yourself a haircut." He paused looking down at the race car driver. "On second thought I might need that."

"Get on with it Rosco." Someone in the crowd called. It was a female voice.

"I know pronounce you man and wife." Rosco skipped to the last bit.

Daisy and Enos kiss, followed by cheers from the room.

_**Friends and neighbors let me introduce to you Mr. and Mrs. Enos Strate.**_

They walk out of the Boars Nest, the town folk throwing rice.

_**It was a perfect day for a white wedding. **_

_**Not many people can say they were married during a bar fight, unless you lived in Hazzard County.**_


	12. Once in a Hazzard Moon

Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Once in a Hazzard Moon

Certain things, once in a life time things happen, even in Hazzard. Luke and Bo find an alliance in an unexpected person. Hold on to your seat. Things can get a bit bumpy, with 10 in the tank and 4 on the floor, that's one thing that doesn't happen only once in Hazzard County.

Disclaimer: Once again I own nothing.

Rosco was chasing Maryanne in her firebird. They'd do this every once in awhile, when Boss wasn't telling him to chase after the Dukes.

_**Husband and wife, chasin' each other. What do you make of that folks? I guess the thrill is in the chase and never in the capture. Only in Maryanne's case that second part is true. **_

She loses Rosco for a few seconds. The firebird suddenly slows down. She glances at the gas tank. It's empty. "Maryanne, you nit." She puts her palm to her forehead. She looks up when she hears the sound of "Dixie". The General Lee was coming her way. She got out of her car just when Rosco was coming around the bend. Bo had stopped the General. Maryanne went over and climbed in. "We've got company fellas."

They see Rosco coming toward them. They take off down the road.

"Why's he chasin' ye?" Luke asked.

"We….do it for…..fun. It makes for interesting…talk later."

"I did not need to hear that." Luke said wishing he hadn't asked. He didn't want to think what "interesting talk" meant though he already knew.

"You asked Luke." Bo said.

"Ye shouldn't be with us when he's chasin' ye." Luke said to Maryanne. But he was thankful that she was on both sides.

"It's fun. And I'm your friend."

"A Coltrane friends with a Duke, I thought I'd never see the day." Luke said surprised.

"You don't always get along, but I have a feeling I can change that." She pats Luke on the shoulder, smiling. "Dukes and Coltrane's won't be fightin' again."

The boys dropped her off at the Boar's Nest. She waved to them and they honked at her, waving back as they left. She ran inside the Boar's Nest. _**The reason why she was in a hurry was because she had to talk to Boss, in private, without any interruptions from Rosco. **_

Maryanne rushed in to the back room, the door hitting Cletus.

"Sorry Maryanne. " He apologized, lifting his hat to her. He left the room.

_**He's lucky he has a hard head.**_

Shaking her head, she strode over to Boss's desk.

"What is it now?" He scowled at her. If she was here to argue with him about how he treated Rosco she could forget talking to him.

"I'd like to work at the Boar's Nest." Boss looked at her bewildered. "You know, earn a little extra, just a little extra. I know how cheap….."

"You can work here but I'm payin' ye for both jobs."

"What?"

_**Just about then Rosco and Enos were pulling up.**_

When they entered the Boars Nest, they could hear raised voices coming from the back room, Boss and Maryanne's.

Maryanne was yelling at Boss. "If it's because I'm not an American born citizen or because I'm a woman….I talked to Lulu. I have rights you know."

Boss suddenly remembered the H.E.R.S. (Hazzard Equal Rights Society.) Lulu had created a few years back, but they weren't as active now. Boss had told Lulu he would pay his female staff the same rate as his male staff, and treat them with equal rights. "If you do what I say, I'll think about it. You might have to do a little something for me first." He was in a hurry to get rid of her. So far he hadn't been able to do that for good. But he couldn't. He didn't see a way he could go through with it without getting Lulu caught up in it.

"Well, it better not be any scam involving the Dukes." She liked the Dukes. She even considered them her friends. They were quite fond of her as well.

"No, no, it has nothing to do with the Dukes, just a little side work."

" Rosco and Enos were listening in at the door. Maryanne was yelling at Boss. The words coming out of her mouth shocked them both, as much as it did Boss.

"Possum on a gum bush. I ain't ever heard a lady talk like that." Enos directed to Rosco.

Rosco just told him to hush. "Enos, I can't hear a thing with you yammering in my ear." He pressed his ear closer to the door. He shoved Enos back a bit.

"And another thing…" The rest is gibberish sounding to us as ye can't cuss in television folks, at least back then. Rosco jumped a little when he heard sound of stuff breaking. "Ooh, jit, jit."

Enos strained to hear, his eyes wide. "I wouldn't want to be Mr. Hogg right now." Enos said. Rosco shook his head at Enos.

"Enos, stop breathin' on me. I can't concentrate on what's goin' on in there. I want to hear what happens next. Kew. Kew."

They stepped back and moved aside as the door opened. Maryanne walked out, brushing off her hands. She patted both Rosco and Enos on the shoulder. "Hello, boys." She then was on her way.

Rosco and Enos couldn't take their eyes off her. When she was out of sight, Rosco turned his head to Enos and notice the deputy was still gazing in the direction. "Enos don't stare." He couldn't scald Enos. He couldn't blame him. Then just to annoy Enos he said. "You don't want me to tell Daisy, do ye?"

"Don't tell Daisy Sheriff." Enos said guiltily.

_**That next day, the boys were drivin' into town to get some groceries for Uncle Jesse. Instead of seeing what they usually saw on a typical average day, they saw something peculiar. **_

Bo was about to load the groceries into the General, when Luke spotted Maryanne writing out a ticket by a car parked by a fire hydrant. She wasn't in her uniform; she was wearing a white and red plaid shirt and was wearing sunglasses. The sun reflected off the badge pinned to her shirt pocket. She stuck the ticket on the car, looking down both ends of the street she picked up the fake fire hydrant.

Luke paused before sliding into the General. He sat on the door. "Is it me or is there something oddly familiar about that?"

Bo finished putting the paper bags in the backseat. He looked over toward the courthouse expecting to see Rosco at it again with the phony fire hydrant (he always did that around this time.) but instead he saw Maryanne. Bo crossed the street, Luke, by his side.

"Maryanne, what are ye doing?" Bo asked her. "Rosco usually does that."

"You're not the one to collaborate with Boss's schemes." Luke said. She didn't stand for them. It didn't make sense for her to suddenly see the colors Boss did.

"I know fellas. I have to. Boss said I might lose my job if I don't. And he won't pay me after hiring me to work at the Boar's Nest."

"You, working at the Boar's Nest?" Bo could imagine how that would turn out. Maryanne was a klutz. She'd probably be dumping trays and beer all over the place.

"I start on Monday." She waved at the boys as she headed back to the Sheriff's department.

_**Later the evening right before dinner time, Bo decided to go to the Boar's Nest, knowing he had a better chance of running into Boss there, as he often went there to avoid Lulu's cookin'**_

Bo caught Boss before he could go inside."Boss, what do you have against Maryanne?" Bo wondered why he was targeting Maryanne now as much as him and Luke.

"I don't like her. She gets Rosco to use his brain." It became a problem to him. He shouldn't have let them get married. It was not good for his business. But he did like the fact that she made Rosco happy. "She's too young….." She was as mature as Rosco was. Maybe that's why she liked him.

"You have no real reason to dislike her." Bo accused.

"Da…." Boss was a loss for words. He couldn't think of one thing that he disliked about Maryanne.

"Now would ye stop acting selfish and pay her, for both jobs?" Paying her only for her deputy job and giving her pay from her waitress job to Daisy was unfair. "She should be getting' your respect around here. I think it's about time she earned it."

That Monday Maryanne started at the Boars Nest. She had on a white shirt with a patch of a cartoon Boar on the front right side and wore a short green skirt.

"Daisy, like the new uniforms?" She unfolded the white t-shirt she had in her hands.

"Is Boss making us wear uniforms?" Daisy took the shirt from her as it was handed to her.

"No. I made them." If she could make a few changes around here she wouldn't feel like a slave.

Daisy held the shirt up to her, seeing if it would fit. "That's very nice." She did really like it. Maryanne did have a good fashion sense. "I'll go try it on."

Patch and Morgan were headed to Hazzard on business. They pulled up to a bar, called the Boars Nest. They were told to meet Boss there. Patch had Morgan go inside and check out the place.

Maryanne and Daisy got to work filling orders. Her first order she took was Morgan's. She was about to deliver it, Morgan stood up and she ran into him.

Daisy offered to show her the ropes. "I was spilling everythin my first time too." She didn't want Maryanne to feel embarrassed.

Maryanne bent down to pick up the tray. "I got it."

Moragan was staring at her while she was bending over. He went to grab her. On reflex Maryanne turned around grabbing him arm and forcing it against his back. She pushed him against the table. He was bent over his head resting on the table. "Try that again and I'll do more than twist your arm. Got me?"

"Yeah, ok, ok." The man said.

Boss walked in and went up to Daisy, who took up her station behind the bar.

"What can I do for ye Boss?" She took out a glass from one of the shelves.

Boss waved his hand at her to put it away. With his other hand he took out a cigar. "Just waiting for Rosco." He lit his cigar.

A few short seconds later Rosco entered with Sandy May. She went off and took a seat in a booth. Maryanne brought her a glass of milk with chocolate syrup and a hot dog, and a coloring book to keep her entertained.

Seeing her mother had forgotten to give her a spoon, she used her hotdog to stir the chocolate syrup.

Rosco walked over to Boss and Daisy.

"Why are you wearin that for?" Boss asked Daisy taking note of the shirt she was wearing.

"Maryanne made them." Daisy said. "Don't cha like 'em?" It was a very clever idea.

"It makes this place more lively." Rosco said, he looked over the Boars Nest. It looked more like a business.

"Da…" Boss interjected, but then he scowled. "Follow me, into my office dipstick." Rosco followed him.

Bo and Luke went over to greet Sandy May, asking how it was like

"I had a fun time, but not as much fun as I do here." The child finished drinking her milk. "Ah." She said as she finished the last drop of the refreshing beverage. I love chocolate milk. I could drink it all day."

"Aren't ye doing to eat your hotdog?"

She looked up at Bo and shook her head, making a disgusted face. "It takes like chocolate milk." She hopped out of the booth, whipping her chocolate mustache with her hand.

"Even though she ain't Rosco kids, still acts like him. Don't make a lick of sense." Bo grabs the untouched hot dog.

"How's it taste?" Luke asked, he had his arms folded, looking straight ahead at something.

Bo shrugged. "It doesn't taste like chocolate milk."

Morgan went outside, walking to where Patch had parked the truck. "That lady was strong. I don't want to have to deal with her." He said to Patch.

"We might have to." Patch lit a cigurette. "Is Hogg here?"

"Yeah, a woman called this man in a white suit Boss."

"It must be him." They waited till closing time to go inside.

Boss discussed his plan with Rosco. "We're going to be free of the big orange for good." Boss made his shot at pool.

Rosco followed him around the table. "The big orange?"

Boss drew back from his next shot and looked up at Rosco. "The General Lee ye dodo."

Just then the door opened and two men stepped in. Boss greeted the two con men.

"We don't have time for introductions." Patch wanted to get straight down to business."What's the deal Hogg?" Patch asked.

"You're job is to get rid of the General Lee." He planned on getting rid of the car. Without their fast car it would be easier to catch them.

"The General Lee?" Patch asked. He thought he had heard something about General Lee back in school. He had never payed attention.

"It's the Duke boys car. It's orange and you can't miss it."

"How do you want us to get rid of it?" Morgan asked. _**He was the brainless one. He'd make Rosco look smart.**_

"Do anything means nessecarly, destroy it."Boss couldn't wait to see that car out of his life once and for all. They'd catch the Dukes for sure.

"The payment is set at 100,000." Patch said. It would take up most of his time to plan how to get rid of the car, without drawing any suspicion.

"100,000 dollars?"

"100,000 or the General won't be the only thing we'll be destroyin." Patch grabbed Boss by the lapel, lifting him up so that they were face to face. Morgan grabbed Rosco by the tie, making

"I think you should do as he says Boss." Rosco says.

"Ok, ok. We got a deal." Now put me down.

"Glad to hear that." Patch put Boss down. Without taking his eyes off Boss he said, "Let 'em go, Morgan. I promise you'll have your fun later."

Morgan let go of the Sheriff and followed Patch out of the Boar's Nest.

"He didn't say not to hurt 'em." Patch said finding a loophole. "If he wants to get rid of the orange car, why not get rid of the Dukes?"

_**Fellas, I smell a rat. **_

Bo and Luke where driving the back roads, taking the General Lee out for a drive. Sirens blared from behind them, interrupting their peaceful drive. Bo looked in the rearview mirror. "Here comes Rosco." He said expecting it. He had thought for once they were going to have a nice drive. But as always it was interrupted by Rosco, Enos, or Cletus, sometimes Maryanne but not as often.

Bo pulled over and Rosco gave them a ticket for speeding.

"Thanks Rosco." Bo said, holding his hand up with the ticket in it. Rosco headed back to his patrol car and drove away.

_**And things are just about to get worse for the Duke boys.**_

Bo and Luke in the Gereral Lee,found themselves being chased. They were chased to the train tracks. The dividers came down. The lights flashed signaling that a train was coming. They couldn't back up. The truck was blocking them.

Bo checked behind them and then ahead. "The only way I see us getting out of this if we go through it."

"Oh no…." Luke began. They crashed through a lot of fences, always nearly scratching the General's paint job. If taking out the barrier scratched it…

"Do you have any other ideas?" Bo put the General into drive.

The General took off at full speed. Patch's truck stayed on the track.

Boss was eating his lunch. A big tray with a pile of ribs lay in front of him on his desk. The two con men they hired reach him on the CB.

The radio was cutting out. "We…almost got 'em…." Patch's voice comes over the CB.

"What…?" Boss shouted through a mouth full. "Speak louder. I can't hear you."

"They got away." Patch shouted. But it was no use. The blare of the train's engine drowned out his voice. He gave up throwing the mike to Morgan. Just as Patch tried to move the truck forward, it wouldn't move. After turning the key in the ignition nothing happened. The truck stalled. "The engine's stalled." He said to Morgan.

The train was coming closer. "Bail out, bail out." Patch called to Morgan. They climbed out of the truck and ran for cover just as the train hit the truck, leaving behind nothing but scrap metal.

The last thing Boss heard was the sound of a train crashing into metal. He slowly hangs up the CB mike, his eyes wide. He had done it. He finally got rid of the General Lee. You can imagine what he's thinkin' but it's not the General that got destroyed.

"Where are those boys?" Jesse asked Daisy as he paced the kitchen. There diner was getting cold.

"They'll be here soon Uncle Jesse." Daisy assured him. Uncle Jesse shook his head.

Just then they could hear a car pulling up. Jesse and Daisy looked out the kitchen window to see who was approaching. Boss was just getting out of his Cadillac.

Jesse went to let him inside. "Good evening J.D." Jesse pretended to be surprised to see him as always. He could only be here for one thing. "What are you here for this time?"

Boss said, nothing taking off his hat, and setting it on the table. "Jesse I think I've gone and done it." He was silent again before he added, "I hired some men to destroy the General Lee. It was hit by a train. The boys might've still been inside."

"Did you see it happen?" Daisy wiped her hands on the dish cloth and set it down on the counter. If he didn't see it happen Bo and Luke could be very much alive. Even though the thought of her cousins being alive, she was still upset. Because she couldn't stand to think of the General scattered all over the road, in a million pieces.

"No, I only heard it over my radio."

"Why don't you go on back into town J.D. .." He gave a quick glance toward the pantry. He thought he had heard something being knocked over. Just as quickly he glanced away. "..and we'll let you know when we hear from them." With that Boss left the farm house.

There was a sound coming from the pantry. Jesse walked over the pantry, half striding. He opened the door. Bo and Luke nearly fell out. A tin can was kicked over.

"Why did ye have to step on my foot?" Bo looked back at Luke once he had straightened his balance.

"That pantry's not big for the both of us." It was a confined space. "The last time we hid in there we could barely fit."

"Yeah, it's no time machine that's bigger on the inside." Bo ran his fingers through his hair, scratching his head as he looked down at the tin can he had knocked over. He noticed the silence in the room. He looked from one to the other, giving him puzzled looks.

"So we were right, this was Boss's doing." Luke said. He had his arms crossed.

"You're thinkin we should teach Boss a lesson?" Bo asked Luke.

"You bet, cousin." Luke said smiling. "Never mess with the General Lee."

"Now boys…" Uncle Jesse began to scold them.

"We won't be too harsh on him Uncle Jesse." Bo said shutting the door behind him and Luke.

Boss entered the courthouse trying to avoid everyone. But it was nearly impossible. Enos and Cletus where working night shift. He had to act like nothing happened so he wouldn't draw attention.

Enos was sitting at the booking desk. Cletus was over by the coffee machine, making himself a cup. They were in for a long night. "Evenin' Mr. Hogg." Enos greeted. Boss just waved him away.

As Enos greeted Boss, Cletus looked up. He took notice of his cousin's appearance. "Cousin Boss…."

"Where's Rosco?" He asked. It didn't matter which one of his deputies answered him. Cletus shrugged. He walked toward Boss, struggling to put the lid on. He tripped over his shoelace, spilling the hot coffee all over the front of Boss's suit.

"Yow." Boss called out as the contence spilled on him. "You dodo." He grabbed Cletus by the tie and used it to wipe off some of the coffee. He let go of Cletus, who coughed as he got air back into his lungs.

The doors to the courthouse sung open. He half expected it to be Patch and Morgan. Maryanne stormed in with Rosco trailing behind.

"What is she doing here?" He asked Rosco. "You're not supposed to be working."

"You told me to come in Boss….to make sure….you know." He'd sworn to Boss that the business about getting rid of the General Lee was kept between them.

"Since I'm his deputy, he told me it was ok if I came in too." Maryanne said, putting her hand on Rosco's shoulder. She kissed Rosco on the check. "I'll be waiting for you in your office." She said heading that way, Rosco smiling after her.

Cletus smiled. He liked seeing the Sheriff happy. He knew cousin Boss would've told Rosco to wipe that smile off his face. But Boss was in no Boss seemed eager to avoid anyone. Cletus summed it up as Boss still being humiliated after the incident with Maryanne. Enos had told him all about it.

Boss wanted to tell them both to wipe the dumb smiles of their faces but he couldn't. He wondered if he should tell them about the Dukes. But then he stopped himself. It would have been devastating for Rosco to hear. He knew how much Rosco secretly liked the Dukes. He watched Maryanne as the others did. He noticed the changes to the uniform. She had taken off the black patches on the sleeves of her deputy uniform. The top of the sleeves now had ruffles.

"She's ruined my uniform."

"That's the way she expresses herself." Rosco said hapilly. He couldn't wait till what she had waiting for him in his office.

"Well, tell her to un-express herself or she's fired." Boss and Rosco headed to Boss's office. Boss stopped him. "We'll discuss you know what later." He turned around to face Rosco, stepping into his office he slammed the door shut.

Patch and Morgan hitched a ride over to the used car lot.

"Why didn't we just steal that car?"

"If we'd stolen it we'd have the law on us." Patch said to his friend.

"Hazzard County Law is exactly equipped with the best. They're all inept."

"Yeah, but I've overheard that the one of 'em's pretty smart."

"You know I can easily…" Morgan cracked his knuckles. "Get rid of that hick Sheriff."

"Do you want to go to jail for killin the Sheriff? All we have to do is get rid of the Orange car, we get out money and we're out of here."

Rosco went to his office, shutting the door quietly behind him. Maryanne sat in his chair. He let her. It wasn't like someday he was going to make her Sheriff. That position was off limits to her. She swiveled the chair back and forth before standing up.

"Rosco could you do me a favor?"

"An….anything."

"Could you ask the boys to teach me how to drive the General Lee?" She knew it was an odd question to ask at the moment.

"Course I…what?"

_**Late in the evening**_ _**Bo and Luke decided to pull a prank on Boss to teach him a lesson. **_They waited out back of the Boars Nest, using Cooter's tow truck to CB Boss._** Cooter, volunteered to help them out.**_

Rosco snuck up beside the Dukes, nearly blowing their cover, sending them nearly jumping out of their skins. Well, it made Bo and Cooter jump. Cooter almost hit his head on the roof of his cab. Luke casually turned his head in Rosco's direction.

"Rosco." Boss scolded, just as he let go of the CB button.

"What do you want?"

"I want to ask you somethin?" They boys stared at each other for a second, then back at Rosco.

When they said noting Rosco continued. "Could you teach Maryanne how to drive the General Lee?"

"What?" The cousins exclaimed.

"Isn't Boss trying to have the General destroyed…"

"Well ye…." He paused. "Wait a minute. I know what you're tryin to do." They were trying to get him to spill the beans.

"Now, you wait a minute Rosco." Cooter said. "If those guys are still after the General, now's not the time for driving lessons."

"Listen to Cooter, Rosco." Luke said, Rosco wouldn't listen to them. He always seemed to listen to Cooter, on some occasions.

"I will not."

"Look…. "Luke started to say but he stopped himself mid sentence. "Ok, we'll teach her, if you don't tell Boss what we're up to."

Boss was taking his nap as usual after he'd eaten a big meal.

"You got us killed Boss."

"I didn't mean to."

"You're apology won't do us any good Boss." Luke said in a ghostly voice. Bo and Cooter tried hard not to laugh.

"What do you want me to do?

"We're here to teach you lesson." Luke continued. "No one messes with the General Lee."

Bo took the mike from Luke. "And make sure no harm comes to him."

Luke took the mike back and added, "Unless you want us to haunt you for the rest of your days."

"Ok. I'll make sure."

Bo and Luke glanced at Cooter who had falls over backwards in the cab of his truck, laughing.

"Rosco." Boss ran over to him as he entered his office. "I've done a horrible thing. The Duke boys came back to haunt me."

"Boss, Bo and Luke are out back." He knew he let it slip. It bothered him to see Boss like this. Bo and Luke had done the same thing to him.

Boss ran to the back door and ran outside. "Bo, Luke you're alive."

Bo, Luke and Cooter are bow disappointed.

"You told me to not tell him what you were up to." Rosco said. He had found a loop hole. If he knew what a loop hole meant.

"I think he just descovered the meaning of loop hole." Luke said. "We'll still teach Maryanne to drive the General. But after all this blows over." He had to get Rosco credit.

"Not me." Bo said. He didn't want Maryanne behind a stick shift. "You." He patted Luke on the shoulder. Well it's only fair if she learned from the best." He teased. They followed Boss and Rosoc toward the back door. "You call off those shady fellas of yours Boss." Bo says as they all walk inside.

Cooter drove off in his tow truck.

Maryanne, getting tired of sitting in Rosco's patrol car outside, got out. She spotted two men pulling up. Once of them she noticed she had served him earlier.

"There's that lady from earlier." Morgan said. He was eager to not bother her.

"Why don't we both handle her?" Patch said. They approached her.

Patch took out a gun, before he could raise it, she kicked the gun out of his hand and she punched Morgan in the nose.

She had to tell them what she'd seen. The two men were probably part of Boss's schemes but she didn't care at the moment. She took off running and threw the door to the Boars Nest open. Maryanne rushed into the back room. The door hit Bo.

"Ding, dang it Maryanne. Don't ye know how to check a room before ye come bargin' in like that?"

Patch and Morgan entered the Boars Nest, walking to the back room.

"Why don't we get rid of the Duke boys for ye?" Patch said. It would be easier than them causing him trouble all the time.

"Cause I never meant any harm." Boss said. "I might thief, and cheat and steal. But I don't kill."

"You just get people to do your dirty work for you."

Boss nodded.

"You know what's gonna happen now?"

"Now you're gonna leave?"

Bo stepped forward. "I would listen te…."

"Wrong." Patch had pulled out a gun. Bo backed up.

"Someone's gonna get hurt." Patch nodded at Morgan, who was close to the Sheriff.

Morgan pushed the Sheriff against the wall and put a hand around his throat.

Maryanne ran over to Morgan and beat on his arm. "Let him go." Morgan easily pushed her off.

"Let's just cut to the other part of the deal." Patch was saying to Boss. "Do you have a safe in here?"

"Yeah, yeah, it's over there." Boss pointed to the safe, by where Luke was standing. Patch stopped Boss from walking over to it.

"Let him open it." Patch motioned to Luke with his gun. "And you tell him the combination."

Rosco's hand reached to for his gun. Before it cleared his holster Morgan snatched it from him pointing the barrel into his chest. He started to squeeze

"Morgan, I told ye not to kill anybody." Patch warned, glancing back at his partner as Luke worked on the safe.

"You tried killing us." Bo shouted.

"Yeah, but we was going to make it look like an accident." Morgan said.

"Ye see Morgan's got a bad temper, like I got a bad temper. But sometimes he can't control it." He glanced at the Sheriff who was starting to choke from lack of air. "Know give us the money, and we'll be outta here. Or do you want an accident to happen?"

Maryanne was still sitting on the floor, her face growing red with anger. She stood up and charged at Morgan. She grabbed Morgan's gun arm and pushed it with all her might. Morgan turned to face her, but he still had a grip on Rosco. She kicked Morgan where it hurts. He dropped the gun and fell to the ground, releasing Rosco. Rosco slid down the wall to the floor.

Maryanne got to Rosco's gun before Morgan could and pointed it at him. Morgan got up and she handcuffed him. She bent down next to Rosco and put a hand to his face. "Are you alright?" She asks him. Her husband nodded.

Patch ran out of the office with Boss's money.

"Go on, get after him. Go." She was going to stay here with Rosco.

Bo and Luke followed after Patch in the General Lee, Boss right behind them in his Cadillac. Bo cut Patch off and Boss blocked him from the back.

Patch ran at Bo, punching him. Bo falls to the ground, down for the count. Luke comes at Patch, dodging his blows. He gets the upper hand. Bo noticed he wouldn't for long. It took both of them to take Patch down.

_**Patch and Morgan where put in jail and the boys still agreed to teach Maryanne to drive the General Lee. Well Bo bailed out, Luke was the only one brave enough to do it. **_

Maryanne revved up the engine. "This is so awesome." She never actually had been behind the wheel of the General before. She moved the clutch into reverse instead of drive. She never drove a stick shift before.

"Reverse." Luke said.

She stepped on the gas pedal a little, the General moved no more than an inch backwards.

"Reverse." Luke said again, he looked behind him. They were going backwards in reverse. He put his hands on the dashboard. "Ye…" The General's wheels screeched and started moving backwards at full speed. It came to a stop when it hit a dumpster. Luke looked up at Maryanne. "It's in reverse."

_**Well it's a lesson learned. Ya'll just don't mess with the General Lee, in Virginia or in Hazzard. **_


	13. Hazzard of the County

Chapter 13: Hazzard of the County

Hughie, and (L.D.), Boss Hogg's nephews come to Hazzard. L.D. doesn't seem interested in his uncle's scheming ways. Is there such thing as a good Hogg?

Boss was in his office at the Boars Nest when he had gotten the call. "Langford Douglas Hogg." Boss hung up the phone and stared off into space. He hadn't heard from him in…well Langford never called him.

"Who's that?" Rosco asked Boss. He could tell it upset Boss. Or was he still upset about Maryanne? Boss had avoided talking to Maryanne for a week.

"My Nephew." He had send a letter to both his nephews. L. Hughie. He didn't expect L.D. to call him.

"How many nephews you got?"

"Just the four." Boss said. And out of the four of them he only likes one. "He's a two goodie two shoes like my brother, Abraham Lincoln Hogg, his father."

"I didn't know you were related to Abraham Lincoln."

"Hogg, my twin brother you imbecile."

"Now, Uncle Boss is that how you treat yer law around here." A new voice spoke from the doorway. Boss and Rosco turned in direction of the voice. There, dressed all in black was Langford Douglas Hogg. Folks just called him L.D. L.D. Hogg. He was the handsomest Hogg you ever did see. With straight black hair, and grey eyes, they were compliment to his features. But be careful looks can be deceiving. "Uncle Boss, tell me why you got this reprobate tailin me?"

In walked Hughie Hogg, behind L.D.

"What are you doing here?" Rosco asked. His tone was filled with much more dislike than when he asked the Dukes that question.

"I sent for both of them." Since Jaime Lee was still in jail and Dewey was scared out of his wits to come back, Boss was stuck with only two decisions. "They're going to take turns of keeping charge of things while I'm out of town for a few hours."

Rosco walked closer to Boss and whispered. "Hughie Hogg in charge? Boss did ye hit yer little chrome dome?" He patted Boss on the head.

"Would you stop that?" He pushed Rosco's hand away. He brought his voice down so only Rosco could hear. "L.D. knows how to keep him in line."

That was when they were kids. I don't think Hughie's gonna stand for being pushed around.

"Excuse me I got to take care of a few things." He grabs the CB mike and pressed down the button. "Enos, Cletus where are you?"

"I'm chasin' the Duke boys like ye asked me to." Enos answered.

"Just make sure those Duke boys are….preoccupied." Out of the corner of his eye he looked from Hughie and L.D. "I'm in an important meeting with Rosco." He hung up the CB.

"Who are the Dukes?" L.D. asked.

"They're trouble makers." Boss said.  
"Yeah, outlaws." Rosco added. "You don't wanna mess with them."

"I'll have to see that for myself." L.D. said smiling. He'd believe it when he'd seen it.

"I know that for myself." Hughie said.

"Now I got to talk to Rosco for a minute." He shooed his two nephews' out of the room.

"Boss, what are they doin here? You know a Hogg was always meant trouble; look at Jaime Lee and Dewey, and Hughie. I don't know which one is the worst. I'd say it's Hughie." Hughie, that ungrateful little vagabond, used to be a bitter. When he always misbehaved as a kid he'd always go unpunished. Rosco would turn him over on his knew and give him a spankin. No wonder why Hughie strongly disliked him. Hughie didn't like being put in line. And if L.D. was supposed to keep him in line things weren't gonna end well.

"And that's why he's my favorite, but he can't have what's mine."

"But you sent him…."

"I'm writing my will." Boss started to pace and Rosco followed his movements, his black hat in his hands. He stopped when Boss stopped.

"Ooh….is there something wrong with ye?" Rosco's voice sounded a bit hopeful and desperate.

"No, no, I'm not getting any younger Rosco." As Boss says the words, Rosco looks down on at the ground. Boss starts walking around the room again.

"I already got my will written." He wasn't getting any younger either, though Boss was 20 years older than him, like Jesse was. Rosco looked older than he was cause he worried too much and he had cause he always had too much on his mind.

"Ye do?" This made Boss stop.

"Well, I had to rewrite it now that I have Maryanne, and I always get into trouble. This business is risky." With all the schemes Boss came up with were especially risky lately.

"You were always getting into trouble cause you don't have a brain to get out of it. How you never met your end sooner, I don't know." Boss, picking on poor Rosco's intelligence again.

_Enos was still chasin after the Duke boys, which they found unusual because Rosco was usually the one chasin them. _

"Enos how come it's you chasin' us, and not Rosco?" Bo asked into the CB mike. He rounded a turn in the road.

"Rosco is in an important meeting with Mr. Hogg. I can't tell ye what for though. I don't even know." Enos_ was always honest with the Dukes, even when he was chasin 'em on Boss or Rosco's orders. That's what I like about 'im. They need someone from the inside._ "Boss don't tell us nothin about nothin anymore."

"When you say us, you mean you and Cletus." Bo said smiling. Despite him smiling he didn't know if keeping Enos and Cletus in the dark even more was a good thing or a bad thing.

"Yesum." Enos answered back. "But even if I did know I'd tell y'all."

With that Bo handed the CB mike to Luke, who hung it back up.

"I bet they're up to somethin if Rosco's in a meeting with Boss." Luke said. Another day in Hazzard, being chased by the Hazzard County Law and…..Cletus. "Great, look who else we have behind us." He looked in the rear view mirror the same time as Bo.

Cletus was coming up the rear after Enos had lost them.

"I see 'em." Bo, his eyes still on Cletus, shifted gears. "Wanna see if Cletus drives better in reverse?"

_Meanwhile Boss left town and left L.D. in charge. Hughie was coming up with a plan to get the Dukes out of Hazzard, but to do that, he had to get L.D. out of Boss's office._

Hughie snuck to the back to Boss's office. He opened the door a crack and peered in. It was preoccupied by L.D. and Rosco.

"I'm gonna raise yer pay up to 50 percent." Langford said to Rosco, after catching a glimpse of Hughie by the door. He sat in Boss's chair like he was at home; counting the money he had in his hand, as quick and fast as Boss did.

Hughie Hogg gasped, stepping into the room. "You can't do that."

L.D. stood up and walked over to his cousin, towering over him. "I'm in charge of Uncle Boss's money. " Hughie tried to reach for the bundle of money but L.D. put his arm up high. "And I decide what to do with it."

"When you say 50 percent, you mean 50 percent, of 50 percent of Boss's 50 percent?" Rosco tried to calculate the numbers in his head. He was never good at math.

"No, no, no. I mean all of the 50 percent." L.D. said without taking his eyes off Hughie.

"You always acted nice and innocent just to look better in front of folks." Hughie stared down his younger cousin. _L_.D. always used to copy off Hughie, always wanting what Hughie wanted and had to have the same toys and the same friends, when they were children. If anything hadn't changed he'd be after Hughie's big toys. If he thinks he could buy Rosco's favor he thought wrong. I hate having cousins like that. But you know what they say, you can't choose yer family.

"Maybe I do Hughie, but what's wrong with that? I'm just bein' friendly to Uncle Rosco 'cause he deserves it." Hughie and Uncle Boss didn't treat Rosco with respect and he did deserve it, with over the 20 odd years he served in law enforcement. He didn't pity Rosco, like Hughie didn't. He doubted if he did know Rosco that he would. That Hogg was self-absorbed. He didn't care about money; he only cared about looking good. And for a Hogg that's sayin somethin'He hands the money to Rosco. "Now don't spend it all on one place now."

"I won't." Rosco said cheerfully. He was like a kid on Christmas morning. L.D. beamed delightfully. It felt good doing the right thing. Back when he was a kid he always wanted what Hughie had. Now that they were adults, he wanted nothing more than try to look better than Hughie. "Uh, Sheriff, how about you join me at the Boars Nest later for a beer?"

"Ye see I'd like to but uh…I can't." He had a reputation as Sheriff. And he knew better than to let a Hogg offer him a drink. He had learned that on his wedding day. And he'd been tempted.

"I'll put it on my tab." L.D. offered.

In that case, one beer wouldn't hurt. "Kew, Kew. I love it. I love it." Rosco left the office, already counting his money.

L.D. was planning on getting the Sheriff stock drunk, to tell him everything his Uncle Boss was up to.

"I don't know what you're up to L.D." Hughie brought his voice down. "But this ends here."

"We'll see about that, cousin." L.D. threw him daggers, with grey eyes. He left the office. Uncle Boss would surely put him in his will. He'd be the one to run Hazzard someday. But I can tell ye now folks his dreams are gonna be short lived. I don't think any of them Hogg's are going to be runnin this county in the future.

Hughie dove for the desk and started looking through the draws, until he found what he was looking for, Boss's little black book. "Ha, ha, ha." He laughed, gripping the book tightly as if it were money. L.D. would be getting his. He'd think he was doing a good deed to look better than Hughie by helping the Dukes. Boss wouldn't put him in his will if L.D. helped them. It was the perfect plan.

The boys entered the Boars Nest, greeting Daisy as they walked over to the bar. "Who's that over there with Rosco?"

Luke glanced in the direction where Bo was looking. The stranger next to Rosco was drinking a beer and Rosco was having a glass of butter milk. "As long as he's not drinkin'." Luke said referring to Rosco. That man really put the stuff away when something was eating at him. But he looked happy.

"That's L.D." Daisy said, she started pouring their beers. "Boss's nephew."

Bo almost spit out his beer, nearly coughing on it. "His nephew?" Half of his beer spills onto the floor. Daisy proceeds to clean it up. She mops off the beer on the counter top with a cloth.

"Yeah." Daisy refilled Bo's spilled glass. "He said Boss left town on official business of some sort." She put the cloth away. "And I'm tellin ye it can't be good."

Luke folded his arms on the bar. "When you get rid of one another one comes back."

"They don't just come back." Bo said. "They multiply." Bo shivered a bit. He thought about the movie he'd seen last fall. You know the one about those creatures that you pour water on they multiply?

_**After Daisy was off work, they told Uncle Jesse what they heard so far, which wasn't very much. **_

"J.D. left town? " Jesse asked. "What for?"

They were all in the kitchen. Daisy was getting dinner started.

"I don't know. Whatever he's planning it involves his nephews." Luke said sitting down, ready to relax after a long day. He looked forward to having a hot meal.

"Well, I've never met L.D. before but you fellas got to be on yer toes. Even if you do say he's nice." He added the last part toward Daisy. She had fallen for a Hogg that she thought was nice, but he had deceived her. There was a high chance that he could try to deceive any of them. And he was with Rosco. L.D. probably already figured out he'd be the easiest to deceive. She hurried over to the sink, with this on her mind; she drained the noodles in the sink.

Enos came in, hanging up his hat on the key hook beside the door. "Hey, Daisy."

"Hey, Enos." She smiled, then turned back to what she was doing. He came over to her, putting his arms around her waist and kissed her on the check.

"I got to get these back on the oven." She didn't mean to push him away so sudden, but she had to come up with a plan and do something about L.D.

_**The boys and Daisy went into town to see if they could find L.D.**_

_**Before Boss left town, he was going to go over a few things with Rosco, before teachin Maryanne a few things. **_

Boss is in his office at the courthouse. He's showing Maryanne how to open a door. "See, you come in normally, open it slowly, look behind it and then you step in."

Rosco is standing outside the door, when Boss slams the door shut behind him. Rosco runs into the door. "Doh."

Two men entered the Duke farm house. One of them searched the place while the other went around back. Jesse who was in the kitchen spied on the man in the living room, going through things.

_**Little did he know it was a diversion. **_

"Don't move old man." Jesse felt a pistol in his back.

Hughie went over to the Sheriff's car they had hid in one of the barns. Hughie CB'd Cletus. Giving his own little shuck N' jive, telling him he was in charge now. Maybe the last bit wasn't part of it. He meant business when he was in charge.

Once Cletus arrived the thugs jumped out and grabbed him, bringing him to the farm house. They tied Jesse and Cletus together.

"How about I buy you a drink Rosco?" L.D. said to the lawman. He didn't mean for it sound like a question. They had already spent and hour at the bar and he was getting nowhere.

"I already have a drink." Rosco lifted up his glass of butter milk about to take a sip.

L.D. grabbed him by the arm. "A real drink." He lossened his grip.

"This'll do just fine."

L.D. was getting fustrated. The lawman was being stubborn and L.D. couldn't stand stubborn people. He leaned over and grabbed Rosco by the tie. "When I offer you a drink, you take it." Rosco nodded.

L.D. released him and wiped his hands on the Sheriff's uniform. "Sorry about that, Sheriff. I get a little agitated sometimes." He turned back to the bar, ordering another drink. He set it in front of Rosco.

_One beer wouldn't hurt._ He would be able to control how much he drank.

"How much do you know about Uncle Boss's will?"

"Oh." Rosco said, setting his glass down. "I don't know that much."

L.D. decided to give up, and that's when Rosco told him what

"He's not gonna put either of ye's in it."

"Is he now?"

"Ye. He said, no matter how hard you try you can forget about it."

Rosco left the Boars Nest, deciding to take a nap in his patrol car. He got in, turing on the radio just low enough. The sound of _Georgia on my Mind _filtered through. The voice of Billie Holiday always made him feel relaxed. He had a watch that played that song when the alarm went off. When it did he'd lay in bed a few minutes and listen to it. He also liked listening to Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn. He'd listen to Patsy Cline when he was sad. He'd listen to Loretta Lynn or Waylon Jennnings when he felt like it, and Hank Williams Jr. when he felt careless. He had music for just about any ole mood. After the song was over, Rosco drifted off to sleep. He was awakened after what seemed like a short while.

"Howdy, Sheriff." But the person who spoke wasn't speakin' in a friendly matter.

Rosco opened his eyes to see a gun pointed at him. At the end of the gun was someone he didn't expect to see, Hughie Hogg. "Jit." Rosco made to roll up the window, but Hughie reached the door before he did. Hughie opened the door, grabbing his arm to keep Rosco from falling out of the vechicle. He let go and shoved Rosco so he was back sitting up straight, and slamed the door.

"We're goin' for a little joy ride." Hughie kept the gun trained on him as he got into the back seat. He didn't want to sit in the passanger side, as he might draw attention to himself, unwanted attention, namely the Dukes.

Luke removed hid right hand from the wheel and reached for the radio dial. But before he could turn it on, he and Bo heard a siren. Loud and close, flashing lights reflected in the rear view.

"Rosco." Bo said under his breath.

"But I'm not speedin'." Luke glanced at the speedometer, to the road, before glancing back at Rosco's patrol car.

"That's not gonna matter. He'll find some excuse to pull us over." Bo put one arm out the window. After a second he tapped the hood as if trying to think of an idea.

"Turn it off." Hughie demanded.

Rosco reached to turn off the siren, purposely stalling by pressing the wrong buttons. He knew it was expected him to be dumb, so he was playin' dumb. He'd take advatage of that, like right now for instance. Ole Rosco does have a brain in his head, he just don't use it, or sometimes he's just got too much on his mind.

"I'm tryin'." Rosco shouted back at Hughie.

"You're right." Luke said to Bo, who suggested they pull over to see what Rosco was up to. Normally Luke wouldn't agree with Bo but this was one thing they did agree on, if it concerned Rosco. Ain't that like them, helpin a sworn enemy out? "Let's see what he want anyway." Luke slowed down ready to pull over.

The General bumped onto the shoulder of the road, kicking up gravel, then bounced through the weeds. He expected the patrol car to pull up behind them. But it speed right past them. The red and blue lights seem to fade, and the siren too. They watched in stunned silence as the police car speed past. In seconds it had disappeared around the corner.

"I wonder what that was all about." Bo said, scratching his head.

"He's probably in a hurry to get home for dinner."

"Rosco wouldn't pass up an opportunity." It had to be something important that he didn't bother to stop them, which he sort of did. But he hadn't been after them. Bo shook his head. A smile came on his face as he thought of Boss always slapping Rosco's hand away every time he tried to take food off of Boss's plate. "Unless he was really hungry."

There was a pause after the joke. Then boys started laughing.

"You think we should follow 'im?" Bo asked Luke. There was no telling what he was really up too.

"Nah. We got to see what this L.D. is up too and especially Hughie." Their encounters with Hughie were not always predictable but at least now they go the idea of what he'd try to do, like try to take over Hazzard or try to get them behind bars. There was no telling what L.D. Hogg was capable of. Never trust a Hogg and never trust a politician.

Rosco had turned the siren off. He hoped the boys caught on and would follow. But as Duke luck would have it, they didn't. They would get caught up in this mess somehow or other later, as usual. And they would be along to get them outta this.

Hughie brought Rosco to the Duke barn but Rosco didn't know it. He was blind folded.

"Now, get in there." He ordered Rosco.

"I would if I could see."

When they were inside the barn, Hughie unties the blind fold. "Now don't move."

"You wouldn't shoot me."

"No, even I have standards." The two men Hughie hired entered the barn. They are the same men that tied up Jesse and Cletus. "This is Dickerson and Carter. They're gonna help me so the Dukes won't be able to pay their mortgage payment on time. Then the farm will be mine."

"That was one of Boss's ideas." Rosco said, thinking. Boss was planning to try and take the Duke farm again when he got back. He'd chase the Dukes, and they'd end up getting their farm back. But with Hughie in charge of the scam he was must likely to succeed.

"You are smart after all." Hughie said sarcastically.

_**Bo and Luke headed for home figuring it was more important to head that way, if that's where Rosco was headed.**_

_"_Turn around. " Luke said to Bo, letting out a sigh. He was probably headed to the farm.

"Are you sure?" Without getting an anwser, Bo shrugged and turned the General around.

The weather outside was already becoming hot. Maryanne was wearing a white tank top and leather pants. She had taken off her leather jacket. And even though she wasn't on duty she still wore her gun belt around her waist. She had the day off at the Boars Nest as well. When she approached the double doors to the entrance a young man about her age was standing beside them.

"I think I'm getting paranoid of cops."

"What's that?"

He nodded at the jacket she had over her arm. Her badge was pinned on it. She never went anywhere without her badge, when she wasn't working at the Boars Nest.

"L.D. L.D. Hogg." He took her hand and kissed it.

Maryanne smiled and blushed a bit; she looked around to see if anyone was watching. "Yes." She said drawing back her hand. "And married." As soon as the words were out of her mouth she felt like a fool.

"Yes of course." Who could blame a beautiful woman like her for being taken? He heard she was Rosco's wife. He wondered how he did it. "Would you like to join me inside?"

Inside L.D. ordered.

"Chili cheese fries?" L.D. looked embarrassed when she asked him this. "My kind of guy." She gripped her cup and closed her eyes, waving her hand as if erasing the sentence. "That came out wrong."

He put his hands on hers for a few seconds. She took her hands away angerly.

"I'm not good with girls, with the girl thing." He said apologizing.

"You made it convincing."

"What are you up to?" Daisy entered the Boars Nest, seeing L.D. with Maryanne.

"I'm not up to nothin'." L.D. looked up to see a mad, looking brunette storming toward him. Daisy, he recalled her name was.

"She's a married woman."

"I don't like women." It was a way to throw them off. If he wanted his plan to work.

"Oh." Daisy said apologeticly.

Dickerson shot out Uncle Jesse's tires. "Now the Dukes won't be able to make."

"Wrong, wrong, wrong. You see they got the General Lee…."

"You're wrong sheriff. How can they make a payment when we got 'em right here."

Carter and Hughie, come leading the two boys.

"There's still Daisy." Rosco said.

"Who's Daisy?" Dickerson asked.

"You leave her out of this."

_**Ole Rosco is very protective of Daisy. He wouldn't stand for Daisy in danger. He's not the only one. **_

"Now, you shut your hole or I'll put another one in ye." Dickerson said, pointing the gun at him.

"You wouldn't."

"I would. Hughie might have standards but, I don't." Dickerson motioned to Carter.

Carter pointed his gun in the Sheriff's back, leading him back to the barn.

Daisy pulled up in Dixie at Cooter's garage. She told him all about her suspitions about L.D. and Hughie.

"If two Hoggs aren't bad enough." Cooter said, leaning against his tow truck door. "I'll try and reach Bo and Luke on the CB." He tired reaching them. He came back seconds later. "Well, no such luck. Can't get a hold of 'em."

Rosco and the boys were tied back to back.

"Rosco, see if you can reach yer radio." Luke said.

"Enos, this is yer superior officer, come in."

Enos arrived but not at the right place at the right time. Hughie's hired thugs, tie up Bo, Luke, and Rosco together, along with Enos.

_**Don't worry Ole Cooter and Daisy are still out there folks.**_

Cooter and Daisy were headed to the farm. While Jesse and Cletus were trying to get out of their ropes. Jesse was getting agitated with Cletus.

"On a count of three we stand up." Jesse said.

They both counter, but Cletus must have only counted to two. He tried to stand up with the chair he was tied to. The two chairs they sat in were tied back to back. Cletus only lifted the chair a few inched off the ground

"You idjit." Jesse said. "Don't you know how to count?"

"I'm tryin' Uncle Jesse." Cletus pouted.

"I ain't yer Uncel Jesse." Jesse said gruffly. They had to try again.

Cooter and Daisy get Uncle Jesse and Cletus untied.

"What happened?" Cooter asked.

"Yeah." Daisy said, taking in the ransacked living room. "It looks like a tornado hit this place."

"Some fellas tied us up."

"Why, would they do that?"

"Hughie told me to come down here." Cletus spoke up.

"Hughie!" Cooter and Daisy both said with realization.

"I bet I know what he's up to." Uncle Jesse said. "He's after the farm. Anf it will be his if we don't make the mortgage on time."

"Where are the boys?" Daisy asked Uncle Jesse.

"I don't know." Uncle Jesse said. "They probably have them kept somewhere."

"Cletus and I will scope out the place." Cooter offered. "Daisy you take Jesse into town and make that payment."

At that exact moment, Dickerson and Carter were on their way back to the farm.

"Hurry up will ye? Hughie will have us if one of them escapes."

Cooter checked the bedrooms while Cletus stood guard in the living room. "They're not here." Cooter said.

"They're probably somewhere on this property."Cletus suggested. Just then they heard a scream. Daisy. Both of the ran for the door. They both got stuck in the door frame.

"Cletus." Cooter shouted at him. Cletus got out of the door and let Cooter through.

A man had hold of Daisy and another pointed a gun at Jesse at a distance. Hughie arrived in his convertable.

"You're all too late." He said to the Dukes. "I shot out every one of yer tires. Ain't now way you're gonna make that payment." He looked at his watch. "In just about 10 minutes, that farm I'll be mine."

Bo, and Luke managed to get them all untied, with a little fussing from Rosco. And Rosco yelling at Enos for no reason.

When Bo and Luke come out of the barn, they get the bad guys attention and use it as a distraction.

Jesse sneaks up to his truck. He opens the driver door. Hughie pops up from behind it and Jesse hits him with the door.

in a black suit runs toward Cooter. Cooter flips him over.

Rosco and Enos take the guns from the dazed men. Enos points his gun at Carter, and Rosco points his has Hughie.

"All right, Hughie Hogg, yer under arrest." Rosco says. Hughie just looks up at him in discust. Rosco only smiles. "I always wanted to say that."

Daisy CB'd L.D. to try and get to stop his cousin, figuring he'd be the only one to talk some sense into Hughie. But they thought wrong. It turned out to be even a bigger brawl. But as always the Dukes took care of the thugs, and Hughie, and got to make their payment on time. Of course they had to. There are always happy endings in Hazzard.

_**Well, the Dukes made the payment on time, Boss came back just in time, to rub it in his nephews that neither of them would be in his will. After they were long gone, he decided he'd leave everything to Rosco. Imagine Rosco, running Hazzard. I can't tell if that's a good thing or a bad thing. Without Rosco, Hazzard wouldn't be Hazzard, so I guess...things are lookin' up for Hazzard County. **_

_**L.D. apologized to Maryanne for taking advatage of her. He blamed it on being in his blood. She accpeted. Everything went back to normal. By normal I mean, **_

_**Since then Maryanne's gotten better with doors.**_

The door flung open as Maryanne came rushing in as usual. Boss put his hands up and jumped out of the way. "You should wear a bell." He says to her. He throws his hands up again. Putting his cigar in his mouth he leaves the room.

_**Eh….sorta. **_


	14. Mean Green Machine II

Chapter 14: Mean Green Machine II

The Dukes are up against the Mean Green Machine. They might need a little help with this one.

Rosco, Maryanne, Cletus, and Enos were all out on patrol duty, keeping an eye out for the Dukes. Maryanne used the CB earlier to reach the boys, and Cooter. She had a plan brewin.

She picked up the mike. "This is songbird, comin atcha." Maryanne said in a seductive voice, hoping Rosco would pick up. "Wotcher." It was a signal for Bo, Luke, and Cooter to tune in.

"Whactcha?" Cooter came on. He tried figuring out what Maryanne had meant. What cha doin or what's yer 20?

"Maryanne, you sure do talk funny." Bo's voice came on next.

"British, and so does Rosco, but that's just Rosco." She had to have gotten his attention now.

"Maryanne, how many times…." Rosco came on the CB. "The CB is used for emergencies only or if ye have somethin' important…"

She interrupted him. "Don't scold me." She said scolding him. "I just wanted to tell ye I love ye."

"Aw, that's I nice. I love ye…" Before he could finish, the Dukes were coming up the road, driving past him. They honked, their horn playing Dixie. It made Rosco jump. "Ooh, Jit. Jit." He started up the engine.

Cooter also drove past, honking and waving at Rosco. "Wooo." He let out joyously.

All Rosco could do was stick his arm out the window and wave his fist at them.

_**While the boys were having their little fun, some other Dukes were comin into town. Any guess which ones?**_

A yellow car makes its way down a dirt road.

"I miss these roads." Coy said to his cousin Vance. He caught a glimpse of the tail end of a late 60's Dodge Charger as it drove by. The sound of a police siren blared in their ears not far behind them.

Cooter in his truck followed close behind. Behind it was a car they did not recognize who it belonged to. The tow truck and the Firebird turned off a different road.

"Wasn't that Cooter?" Coy asked Vance.

Coy nodded. "I didn't recognize who was behind 'im."

"You recognize who's behind us?" Vance said, bringing up the fact that they had Rosco in their tail, to get his attention. "I missed this." Vance said, clapping his hands together, as Coy sped up, to avoid the approaching police car.

"Let's shake 'em." Coy got up to a faster speed. A head of them the General jumped the creek. Coy followed. Rosco tried to jump it, but failed.

"Is Rosco okay?" Coy asked  
Vance turned around in his seat. "Yep"  
"Speed up Bo and Luke are ahead" Vance told him. "I got an idea."  
Coy sped up.  
Bo in the General stopped the General after he caught a glimpse of the yellow car successfully jump the creek. "Luke those guys just jumped the creek"  
Luke turned around "They're gaining on us."  
The car drove up and sped in front of the General Coy passed his cousins. Bo put the General in drive gradually picking up speed.  
"Who the heck is driving that?" Luke commented.  
"They're pretty good drivers. I'll give them that." Bo looked from the road to the speedometer. And they were able to shake Rosco.  
"Bo look out!" Luke called. The yellow car had swerved and stopped, blocking the road. Bo slid to a stop, nearly hitting.  
"What's the big idea?" Luke yelled as he and Bo got out of the General. Two guys started coming out of the yellow car. Bo was looking back to the road. So he didn't see that they were wearing ski masks.  
"Don't move this is a stick up" Vance said gruffly as he held his fingers in Bo's back like a gun as Coy did the same to Luke.  
"If its money you want, we don't have any." Luke said  
"We don't have money just the car and don't take him. He's family" Bo said.  
Vance started laughing Bo had sounded so sincere.  
Bo turned around to see Vance. Even though he had a mask on, there was no mistaking that he was family."Vance Duke!" Bo said.

"What?" Luke asked, confused.

Coy and Vance started laughing, as they took off their ski masks.  
"That was good." Coy commented, his hands on his hips. He was out of breath from laughing so hard.  
"Now we have family back in town, how about a good ol' fashioned race?" Bo said with a twinkle in his eyes.  
A smile creped across Coy's face he had the same twinkle in his eyes. Luke and Vance just watched their cousins. It was shocking that two Dukes could be so much alike. If anyone saw that twinkle, there would be no question that they were related. They had the same look in their eyes Uncle Jesse always got. Luke and Vance never had it.

"Where to?" Coy asked Bo.

"You call it." Bo offered.

"I bet Uncle Jesse and Daisy is dying to see us."

"Ok." Bo said, slapping the hood of the General Lee. He started to climb into the window. "Maybe we'll be kind enough to give you a head start." Bo got back into driver's seat and Luke got back into the passenger seat.

As soon as Coy and Vance got a little head start, Luke and Bo sped off towards the farm.

Rosco entered the bank to cash his paycheck. Everyone seemed to be that day.

Mabel was there at the front desk. "Hey, Rosco." She waved at him.

Mabel Tillingham had always liked Rosco, as for long as she could remember. Not like as in a friend, but interested. She felt it a shame that he was married now. She never had gotten the courage to admit her feelings for him. Now that he was married to a young woman her age, there was something about him. She seemed more attracted to him now that he was taken.

_**Mabel was now workin at the Hazzard County Bank as a teller. **_

She was getting agitated with a man.

"Now, Mabel that's no way to treat a customer." Rosco said as the man walked away.

"Sorry Sheriff, but he was being such a…such a…..dipstick."

Rosco couldn't help but smile. For being related to a Hogg she was ok. "Kew, Kew. I like you." Rosco picked up his pay check, and left.

Mabel sighed like a school girl ogling her first crush. She rested her elbows on the desk, propping her head up in her hands, starting after the Sheriff.

That one day he called her on the C.B. (when Boss was got the wrong diagnosis from the Doc and it was thought he was going to die.) At the sound of his voice, she straightened herself up even though he couldn't see her. She would always smile when she heard his voice.

AN: A brief, side note. In the episode, The Late J.D. Hogg, from season 3 does anyone notice the look Mabel has when she answered Rosco's call? That wasn't nothin' because I'm sure that was something.

Uncle Jesse was feeding the animals when two cars came sliding onto the property, kicking up dirt. Bo and Luke climbed out of the General. Despite that their cars doors opened Coy and Vance climbed out the windows.

"Coy and Vance Duke." Jesse said excitedly and cheerfully. "How's Aunt Bessie?"

"She's doing better." Coy said, patting Uncle Jesse on the arm.

Daisy, who was putting clothes up on the line, dropped what she was doing and ran over to her cousins to greet them. "Coy, Vance." Daisy said excitedly. She took turns hugging both of them.

"Enos still chain' after you?" Coy asked Daisy, spotting Enos coming out of the house.

Mabel waves at him with a smile, winking at him. Rosco waves back at her. "Jit. Eck." Maryanne was outside waiting for him.

"Why do you say that?" She asked.

"Because she's a girl."

"Mabel is the same age as I am."

"I'm a married man."

Maryanne looked down at the ground, trying to hide her smile. He was being typical Rosco again. She shook her head. "But if you weren't would you….."

"No. She's crazy." Truth was Mabel was kind of a creeper, plus she was Boss Hoggs Cousin. "She's one whistle short of the weenie wagon." Rosco laughed at his own joke he just made up on the spot.

Maryanne had her arms on her hips, shaking her head again. This time because she took offense of other people calling others, crazy. She had to deal with it growing up.

Mabel who was rarely at the Boar's Nest came up to Rosco to greet him. Then she went on her merrily way.

"Be careful Rosco." Luke said from the bar. "I heard Maryanne bribed Mabel to flirt with you."

Rosco said what he always said when he was embarrassed, (or annoyed.) "Will you hush?"

Bo and Luke laughed. Even Daisy who was by the payphone was trying not to. Coy walked up to the bar asking Bo to join him. They go to the booth Coy was sitting at. Three girls were around the table. Two were sitting on either side of Coy, and the other by Bo. Luke got a look of disapproval on his face. Coy Duke was more of a womanizer than Bo was. He wondered if he was just as reckless or worse. He looked down at his empty glass in his hand. Sighing, he set it down.

Vance Duke walked in. Don't ask how it started but Luke and Vance started fighting. They were all just tryin' to have a good time with the ladies.

"You used to box in the marines." Vance said to Luke. He wasn't really going to start a fight. He just wanted to show off to the ladies. "I was wonderin if you could show me a few moves."

"I don't normally."

"How about a round?"

"No thanks, you and your cousin are a little too competitive."

"Maybe, it's in our families' blood." Vance said, maintaining his cool.

"Well, maybe if you were more mindful of your cousin." Luke said. He was a bad influence on Bo.

_**I knew it. If you put three pretty ladies in front a couple of Duke boys it's like putting a rooster in a hen house. **_

Luke and Vance tackled each other to the ground.

Coy, Rosco and Cooter had to break up the fight. Boss hearing the commotion from his office came out.

"What is going on here?" He demanded. "Rosco, in my office, now."

Luke and Vance continued to fight but it was a verbal one.

"Would you fellas stop it?" Daisy said upset. "What had gotten into you two? Can't we all get along?" It wasn't like two Dukes to fight with each other like this. They weren't acting like Dukes at all.

"Now I have six Dukes to deal with." Boss groveled as he stepped into his office, Rosco behind him.

"Only…" Rosco tried to count on his fingers. They usually aimed for Bo, Luke, Coy, and Vance. And they might actually pull it off, if only Maryanne wasn't against them framing them. And if Boss was planning to get all the Dukes that would make….."That would be six."

Boss just made a face. "I want you and Maryanne to do some patrol for me. I got some….business associates coming in, and I don't want you two hanging around here."

"Boss, I'm one of yer business associates. We do everything together."

Boss was about to answer but he was saved by a knock on the door. "That would be them." He shooed Rosco out the back door.

"But Boss…."

"Bye bye, now." He shut the door behind Rosco. When the knocking came again he said, "Come in." Three men entered the office. One was big and burly; one was dressed like a cowboy, and the other wearing all leather.

"Let's discuss business." Boss takes a cover off a black board, showing his plans. "Do you got the….whatcha macall it hidden?"

"We got it over at your abandoned ice shack, like you told us."

"All slickered up and ready to use, I hope."

"The Green Machine will be in ready use tomorrow." The man in a leather jacket said.

"Tomorrow?" Boss couldn't wait that long.

"He means this evenin'." The cowboy said.

"Good. Make sure my plans aren't interrupted and don't let anyone get in your way.

Maryanne and Rosco were out on patrol. And it could be tough as it was afternoon on a Sunday. It was usually until three.

"Better let me drive." She said. Rosco was happy to let her take the wheel. He slid across to the passenger side and she got in behind the wheel. The Sunday afternoon traffic was getting to him.

"What are we doing again?" He asked.

A tall wiry man in his late 30's pulled them over. He was wearing a pair of sharply paired jeans and a red cowboy shirt.

He said that he was police and asked if they had seen any suspicious activity. When Maryanne asked them to show him their badges, he was reaching slowly into his back pocket, a glint of silver in his hand. Maryanne stepped on the gas.

They were chased into an abandoned building. One of the rooms was furnished. There was too much furniture that it was hard to maneuver in a narrow space. Maryanne jumped onto the couch, walking across the cushions and headed to a barred double door that led to outside, possibly to a balcony. They could hear banging down below from the men trying to get in. he followed Maryanne out onto the balcony and found her with one leg over the railing.

"Jump." She said, and she disappeared as she jumped over.

Rosco looked over the edge and saw a weedy little yard, surrounded by high brick walls. Maryanne was crouched in the middle of the yard with her .38 in one hand.

"Hurry." She hissed.

It sounded like the men were through the door. Rosco didn't need any more incentive. He jumped. He hit the packed dirt hard but he managed to hold onto the shotgun.

Maryanne kicked open a door on ground level. It took awhile to get it open. She kicked the door one last time and it finally gave. They hear heavy footstep approach them.

Maryanne leaned into him like she was going to kiss him on the cheek but she didn't kiss him. She whispered in his ear, "These men aren't federals."

Rosco was too stunned to speak. _**They were just out for a little Sunday drive, and this happens.**_

They were in the backseat of the two men's car.

"What do you think they're planning to do?" Rosco whispered.

"They're probably planning to take us to the desert and kill us." She said. "But don't worry." She bent down and spat something into his hand, something small and metal. It was a key, a handcuff key.

"I'm so glad I married ye." He whispered, twisting the key into the lock of his handcuffs. A burning passion went through him.

"Get your cuffs off." She said. To him, she could have been saying, take your clothes off. "Then hand me the key and follow my lead, ok?"

He did as she requested, keeping an eye on the two in the front. They never turned to look back. When she freed herself from her handcuffs she leaned into him again.

"Are you ready?" She asked.

"Whenever you are." Rosco replied.

A battered mini van pulled up alongside them, blocking the driver's side door but not the rear. Rosco already knew how fast Maryanne was but it still amazed him to see her in action. She opened her door and took off running faster than it took Rosco to draw in a single breath. The man driving hit the brakes, swearing. He tried opening the door but it hit the van. The guy on Rosco's side was already out and drawing out a gun, pointing at Maryanne's back.

Rosco dived out of the SUV, taking off after Maryanne. He heard gun shots and screams of bystanders. He risked a look back and saw that the driver had climbed out through the passenger side. He had a pistol in his fist.

Up ahead Maryanne was zigzagging through traffic, never providing a clear target.

Rosco could see bullets spark off an abandoned car a few feet ahead of him. The car went up in a toxic, chocking black smoke and shimmering flame. He threw himself between two cars just as the car blew.

He dared to look up again. There was chaos, people running. He spotted Maryanne peeking up from a beater hatchback and ran toward her. When he reached her she gripped his hand and led him toward the shops. They entered a bakery, where two women were decorating a cake. When they saw Rocso and Maryanne, they froze.

"We need to use your back door." Maryanne said.

One of the women, who was overweight, pointed to the direction of the back door. Maryanne ran for the door which leads into a narrow alley.

"When the first guy comes through the door, Maryanne said, flattening herself against the wall, "Let 'im have it."

"Right." Rosco said, leaning his back to the opposite side of the door and trying to keep his breathing under control. He was still scared, but it was a good kind of scared. You know the type were it gets your adrenaline pumping.

The first man came through the door. Rosco threw a punch. A spike of pain went through his wrist. The man when down like he'd been shot.

When the second came out, Maryanne kicked him in the groin. He fell to his knees. They both handcuffed the two men.

Boss was shocked when Rosco and Maryanne came in with the men he hired to steal the mean green machine from. When they were filled in by Boss, Maryanne was furious. She looked like she wanted to take a swing at someone, anyone. Rosco took a step back from her.

Boss has Cletus arrest them temporarily for "misconduct."

"Don't touch me." Maryanne protested as Cletus put handcuffs on her.

"Yeah, don't touch her." Rosco raised his fist.

"Hush Rosco." Maryanne told him.

"I'll knock you into the middle of next week." Rosco said, shaking his fist at Cletus.

The big green machine had the spike sticking out of its tire. It tore up the side of a car it was racing. They both came to a stop. The same two men that Rosco and Maryanne arrested climbed out of it. Meanwhile, Bo and Coy were driving in the yellow hornet. Coy pulled over when he saw a peculiar sight. They get out and hide behind a hay barrel.

"What's that?" Bo asked spotting the tank.

"The Mean Green Machine." Coy answered. They were in a whole lot of trouble.

Two men were having a conversation.

"Once we rob the jewelry store, we plant this at the Duke farm."

Bo stepped on a stick. It made a snapping noise, causing the men to look their way. It was too late. They spotted the boys.

Coy slid over the hood of the hornet and climbed in through the window of the car. Bo jumped into the passenger's seat.

Outrunning them was easy. Coy lead them into a barn. The Trans Am the two men were driving made it through the barn but they didn't see the barrel of hay ahead and drove into it. It temporarily impaired them, losing sight of Coy and Bo.

"That was easy as pie." Coy said with a smile on his face. Bo looked at his cousin with a smile. It was more fun with him than he was with Luke. He enjoyed Luke's company but sometimes he was just too serious.

Bo called Luke on the CB, telling them they were headed toward the police station. "You're never gonna believe this."

"Try me." Luke said, interested. It had something to involve Boss by the sound of Bo's voice.

"They're usin' the Mean Green Machine to try and frame us." Coy spoke into the mike.

"The Mean Green…." He looked over to Vance, who said, "Long story."

"Some guys were chasin' us in a green Trans Am, but we lost sight of 'em."

"You fellas can handle Rosco on yer own?" Luke asked.

"Affirmative, Luke."

Coy and Bo entered the Sheriff's department. They were surprised to see Maryanne and Rosco in a jail cell. Maryanne told them what happened.

"Misconduct my…" Rosco cut her off. "What, I was going to say, Aunt Sally."

Bo and Coy get Rosco and Maryanne out of jail. They shoved Cletus into the jail cell and tied Enos to a chair.

"You didn't have to tie Enos up." Maryanne said.

"Well, it'll keep 'im quite for a while." Coy said.

"He's got a point you know." Rosco said. "Enos'll blab his mouth all over the place."

"There's some fellas after us." Bo said.

"We reckon they want us because we over heard 'em." Coy said.

Just their luck, the two men kidnap Bo and Coy. As soon as they walk out, they have guns pointed at them.

It had been awhile since they heard from Bo or Coy. Luke decided to go down to the police station. He was informed by Enos and Cletus what was going on.

The Green Trans Am drove, for what seemed like miles. The Mean Green Machine was behind them. "Where are we?" Bo asked, one of the men. They were no longer in the middle of nowhere. The road was lined with tire shops, and garages, bars and warehouses.

"Just about close to Peach tree." The man in the cowboy hat replied. "We'll be there by sun up."

Rosco and Maryanne where close behind them, but they didn't know how close they were.

"I think we should…." Maryanne began.

"What is it?"

"Look up ahead."

One of the men leapt onto the hood of the patrol car pointing a gun at them. Rosco swerved, fighting to keep control as the police car slid on the rough road, trying to knock the guy off the hood. The gun was knocked from the man's hand as they rounded a sharp corner.

To Maryanne's surprise Rosco reacted quickly and efficiently by drawing the .38 and firing it out the open window. The man rolled off the hood.

The hood of the patrol car began to smoke. "Ooh, jit, jit." Rosco exclaimed. "I'm smokin'

The car ahead stopped as Rosco pulled over. There was a brief comical moment where Maryanne and Rosco both drew their guns and tried simultaneously to push each other protectively back and out of harm's way. It took less than a second for them to focus in on the danger and start working together to get Bo and Coy to safety. The front passenger side window shattered as Maryanne ducked. Rosco punched the burly man that had shot at Maryanne. But he went unfazed by the blow. He picks up Rosco by the shirt with both hands and lifts him up high.

Maryanne tapped him on the shoulder. The man looked around confused and looked down at Maryanne. He set Rosco down and turned around, smiling at her. "Fat, drunk, and stupid ain't the way to go through life son." She kicked him in the you know what. The cowboy called to him, holding the door open for him. The big man got up and ran toward the car. The door to the Trans Am wasn't shut all the way. Coy pointed this out to Bo. Coy successfully got out of the car. He hit against the door with his shoulder until it swung open. The burly guy in the passenger seat went to grab for him. Cowboy told him to leave him.

Coy rolled out of the moving car. He hit the ground, harder than when Maryanne had done it earlier. When he tried to get up he staggered a little and fell to his knees, his palms catching his fall. He turned over on his back, resting on his elbows. He heard someone call him name.

Maryanne and Rosco run over to Coy.

"I'm fine." Coy said, protesting their help. "You gotta call Luke and Vance."

"And Cooter." Maryanne said looking back at the still smoking patrol car. "There's no way we're getting anywhere in that."

"You must be Rosco's wife." Coy said with a smile.

"Don't you…." Rosco started, shaking his fist. Coy just shook his head, grinning from ear to ear, shaking his hair out of his eyes.

"I know you two have your differences." Uncle Jesse was having a stern talking to Luke and Vance. Both Duke Cousins had their arms crossed."But you're still family."

Both men looked suddenly guilty. Jesse didn't care who the guilty party was, so they could stand there and look guilty all they wanted. "Are you under the impression that family is always supposed to make you feel good?"

Vance was looking at Uncle Jesse, Luke was not. Luke knew he was more to blame for this. He was too busy fighting that Coy and Bo went off to who knows where. Boss had Cletus and Enos out looking for Bo and Coy, who supposedly helped Rosco and Maryanne escape from jail.

"You think they're supposed to get along all the time? They might have issues, but they don't go holding it against each other and go about it like whiny babies."

"We oughta find Bo and Coy before Boss has 'em arrested…" Luke wanted to get out of there.

"I'm not finished here yet. Uncle Jesse continued, "You think they're always going to be nice to each other, make each other an apple pie, maybe? They're supposed to make you miserable. That's why they're family."

"We'll bring 'em home safe, Uncle Jesse." Luke said as he and Vance left.

The Cowboy and the linebacker, (at least that what he looked like to Bo.) had an idea different than Boss Hogg's. Those Dukes were simply too much to handle.

They'd get the Duke boy to crash the Mean Green Machine, and then he'd get charged for stealing it and damaging property. Then Hogg would pay them for at least getting one Duke in jail. But something went wrong. The wires sparked. The two men were amateurs and must have gotten the wires crossed. Bo lost control of the steering.

Vance and Luke with a little help from Rosco and Maryanne, mostly from Maryanne, by telling them where they last had seen Bo.

"That'll be near Peach tree." Luke said, overlooking a map. "I bet that's where they're headed.

The boys headed to Peach Tree and were there in no time. The Mean Green Machine was out of control. If they tried to stop it, they'd be crumpled like tinfoil.

The giant tank hit a brick wall. Luke stomped on the gas pedal and the General came to a halt. Before it came to a complete stop, Vance was out of the car.

"We got to get after 'im." Luke said.

"No. It's my responsibility." Vance said to Luke. "Heck, I'm the one who maybe started this, but that doesn't seem to matter anymore. I'm getting Bo out of there." Luke let Vance run over to the crashed tank. He would only rush over if Vance needed help.

Climbing over to the wreck Vance couldn't find Bo anywhere, not even the two men. But what he cared about now was finding Bo. The first thing he did when he got inside the tank was grab Bo. He pulled him out from behind the controls. The two men were unconscious as well, lying on the floor.

Luke watched anxiously, waiting for Vance to emerge from the hatch with Bo. He noticed the green giant was leaking fuel.

Bo was limp, a dead weight, lolling against Vance's chest as he half dragged, half carried his cousin away from the leaking wreck. He handed Bo to Luke, where he lowered him to the ground.

"Come on, Bo. Don't do this to me. What were you thinkin' bustin' out Maryanne and Rosco?" Luke didn't get a response. He sensed movement beside him. He turned to see Vance, running back towards the tank. He grabbed Vance before he could continue barreling towards it.

"What are ye doin" He asked Vance.

"I'm going back in there." Vance said, taking off his jacket.

"Not if you wanna get barbequed."

"Despite what they did, they don't deserve this." Vance told Luke. Luke didn't have anything to say against that. He'd spoken like a true Duke. He watched as Vance pulled one man out, but he needed Luke to help him with the other.

Luke stayed next to Bo as Enos and Cletus arrived arresting the two fellas.

Bo started to come around. "What'd I miss?" Bo asked.

"Not much." Luke and Vance helped him up.

_**Those two fellas were behind bars once again, but for permanent this time. Vance and Luke finally set aside their differences and they were all a big happy family.**_

"You two are a lot like Uncle Jesse." Luke said. They were standing out in the yard at the Duke farm. Bo and Coy were getting ready for their rematch race.

"They share my love for racin' " Jesse said, gratefully that he had handed that down. Bo was a great driver because he taught him how to drive, and everything he knew. They were like him back in his moonshine days. "Back when I was runnin shine." He added.

"It was Bo's idea to run moonshine, and I agreed with it. And that's why…"

"You're the idea man." Vance finished. "Coy here likes to rush into thinks without thinking first. That's why I'm the idea man."

"Hey, if you spend too much time thinkin' you'd never get things done faster." Coy said, defensively."I wonder if that's why Rosco does it." Bo and Luke looked at Coy sideways. How did he understand Rosco so quickly? It had taken Bo and Luke a few decades. They still hadn't had him figured out. Coy continued with an explanation, "Rosco might follow Boss like a herd of cattle but at least he's got a brain in his head. He don't use it, more or less like I do." He took in a deep breath taking in the fresh Hazzard County air. He was going to miss it. "Yep. You still up for that race?" Coy asked Bo.

Bo clapped his hands on Coy's shoulder. "You know it."

Luke just gave a look like, are you kidding me? But when Bo climbed into the General and Coy climbed into the hornet, a smile crept onto his face.

Maryanne told Rosco that she told Mabel to "charm" Rosco. She didn't use those exact words but they were somewhere among those lines. It turned out Mabel did like Rosco. She supposed it was her way of testing his loyalty. He did not return Mabel's affection and that was enough proof.

"Now I got a young girl in there giving me googly eyes all day." He motioned his thumb toward the radio station.

"You don't mean me do you, Sheriff?"Maryanne imitated Mabel, flattering her eyes lashed.

The imitation was dead on and it give Rosco a quiver in his liver. "Jit…would you stop that?"

Maryanne laughed. "You have nothing to worry about." She kissed him on the check. She was grateful that she didn't have to stand on tip toes, only being one inch shorter than Rosco. She was 5'11 and he was 6'0 even.

He asked her if it bothered her what he said earlier. She said when other people call other folks crazy it bothers her.

"Since I have red hair, and I had parents right, they used to tease me. But they couldn't call me Orphan Annie. They'd call me Crazy Annie." She could remember an older kid on a bicycle riding past her on her walk home from school, shouting, "Crazy Annie, Crazy Annie."

"I won't use that word around you."

"What word?"

"The C, word."

She smiled and put her arms around his shoulders and they continued on their way.

"You remember that one time I yelled at Boss." Maryanne said, "He avoided me for an entire week. I won't ever do that to you."

Back at the farm Bo and Coy were about to start their rematch race. Bo revved the General's engine, and then Coy revved the Yellow Hornet's engine.

_**Nothing like a nice race for a proper family welcome, that's how the Dukes do things here, in Hazzard County. **_

Daisy waved the flag and Bo and Coy took off.

_**Who do ya'll reckon who won?**_


	15. Police and Helicopter

-Bo and Luke try to thwart a bank Heist. The Duke boys can bring down pretty much anything. But how in the world do you bring down the bad guys when they're in a helicopter?

* * *

_**It was a nice summer day, the bees were buzzin, the birds were flyin' and so was the General, and Rosco, and Cletus and Enos, even Maryanne. **_

The orange Dodge charger zoomed down Snake Nation Road, the whole Hazzard County Police Force behind them.

_**While they were out having their fun Boss was in his office at the Boars Nest. He had something up his sleeve and it wasn't just that fat arm of his. **_

Boss started to begin liking planning schemes on him own. He didn't have to worry about Rosco messing things up. He'd have him make sure the Duke boys stayed out of his way, when his schemes didn't involve them. He himself would take the money from the bank before it opened and have hired thugs "rob" it.

The helicopter was being highjack. And who was behind it, none other than Hughie Hogg. He didn't per say hijack the helicopter himself. He had an even bigger plan to over through his Uncle. He didn't need to be listed in a will. He could just take what he needed. He'd use Boss's cohorts by bribing them. They would be part of the distraction. They would rob one of the stores, Uncle Boss would think it was the Dukes as usual and he'd be sent on a wild goose chase. Then they'd hide the helicopter, hit a few more stores, leaving more false trails and buy everything off his Uncle's hands, and first thing he'd do was make changes to the Hazzard County Law enforcement. And the person he would fire first would be Rosco.

The Duke boys tried to thwart off the robbery like Hughie expected. Luke and Bo ran across the rooftops, trying the reach the copter. Bo took a flying leap off the edge of the building.

_**Are you wonderin how all this is going to pan out? Let's see, the General Lee can fly, who's to bet that a Duke boy can't. **_

Bo took air, he grabbed onto one of the helicopter's legs.

Luke got off the roof, climbing down an escape ladder as fast as he could. He hoped into the General and took off in the direction of the Helicopter.

With a little help from the Hazzard Net, Bopeep, Crazzy C, and Shepard they were able to find the helicopter. The helicopter was too close to the ground for Bo's comfort, but he if he was to loose his grip, it wouldn't be a long fall. Bo eventually lost his grip, the ground below broke his fall. Luke rushed to his cousin to see if he was alright.

"Yeah, I'm alright." Bo grunted. The wind had only been knocked out of him. Luke helped him up.

"At least nothings broken." Luke patted Bo on the shoulder, who slightly winced.

"I think I pulled a muscle." He moved his arm in a circular motion.

"At least no broken bones." After making sure Bo was alright, he searched the sky, in any possible direction the helicopter could have went. But there was no sign of it. "Whoever they are, they didn't finish what they came here for."

"I'm guessing they'll be back." Bo kept on doing the same motion with his arm, trying to loosen up the tendons.

"In the meantime, let's have a little chat with Boss." Luke headed to the General.

* * *

Hughie's original cohorts, John and Gill got caught up in a gun fight with Hughie's new hires, while the new guys robbed the electronic store. John and Gill didn't have any guns. The original plan went aerie.

Maryanne saw the commotion as she was walking over to her patrol car. She CB'd Rosco and Enos but go no answer.

The blond hair man, caught in the crossfire, fell to the ground as the brunette haired man ran after one of the robbers. Gill only winged his shoulder. Maryanne ran over to him as he was getting up.

"I was shot at but I wasn't shot." Gill said. This wasn't part of the plan. But things were still apparently going Hughie's way. Boss was staying clear. The officer that came to check on him would have the other deputies and the Sheriff called into the center of town while Hughie took care of whatever else.

Maryanne still felt guilty for not apprehending the robbers, even though the man wasn't hurt.

Bo and Luke arrived; the Electronic store widow was busted.

" Looks like they struck again." Luke said, eyeing the damage.

"Who struck again?" Maryanne asked. A Hogg was obviously behind this.

"Somebody's robbing the electronic store?" Enos asked after he pulled up and walked over to his fellow deputy and the Dukes. He was about to pull out his gun from the holster.

"It's too late Enos. They got away." Maryanne said disappointed, but more with herself. "I coulda got 'em."

"Sheriff Rosco wouldn't have wanted ye and I wouldn't either." Maryanne was about to protest to that but he interrupted her. "I'm gonna speak with Mr. Frederick." Enos headed toward the store, his hand on his gun that still remained in his holster.

_**Bo and Luke filled Maryanne in about the two fellas in the helicopter that were trying to rob the bank. **_

"You think it could be the same guys?" Bo was thinking there was no other explanation.

"Had to be." Luke agreed with Bo. There was no one else new in town. It had Boss written all over it. It would only be a matter of time before he framed them for the robberies.

"I didn't get a clear look at 'em." Maryanne said.

"If you see anything suspicious keep us and Enos posted." Luke said to Maryanne. If Boss was behind this they really couldn't tell her to get a hold of Rosco.

"Were are you goin?" Maryanne wondered. They would usually take action in this situation.

"Too see J.D. Hogg." Luke and Bo crossed the street. Before they reached the courthouse, Rosco was pulling up in his patrol car. He put on his sirens. The Dukes doubled back and ran to the General Lee and took off.

"You think we should follow?" Maryanne asked Enos.

"When it comes to the Sheriff chasin the boys, you 'n me are just small potatoes." Enos watched Rosco take off down the street after the General Lee. "Rosco's been chasin Dukes longer 'n we've been around."

Maryanne grimaced.

"Shucks, Maryanne. I didn't mean it like that." Enos confessed.

"It's alright Enos." She looked both ways before crossing the street to her patrol car.

_**Why was it that when you say something in your head it sounds right but it comes out**_** wrong?**

Enos felt bad. Maryanne didn't seemed bothered by the age difference bewteen her and Rosco, unless it was metioned. He had to come up with a way to apologize to her.

* * *

The Boar's Nest was filled with the usual crowd. Maryanne was sitting at the bar, nursing a beer, as Hughie walked in with his new cohorts behind him.

"Howdy, who is she." He looks at the back of Maryanne up and down. He walks over to the bar and sits down next to here. "I haven't seen you around here before." The redhead turned in her seat. She was as beautiful as the back of her was.

"Me neither." Maryanne suddenly felt like dumping her drink all over him. But she didn't know why.

"What's your name?"

"Maryanne Coltrane."

"Hughie Hogg." And there's why. "Say are you related to the Sheriff?"

"I'm his wife."

"Oh." Hughie said interested. "Is that so?" You know when an idea is forming in Hughie's head. "Say, why don't you….ditch the zero and get with the hero?"

Maryanne smiled, covering up her true feelings of rage. She picked up her glass. "How's this for ditchin' darlin'?" She splashed the contents on his face. She set the glass down and hopped of her stool.

Hughie picked up a napkin in front of his and wiped off his face, trying not to show that his pride was hurt. "Too young for the sheriff ain't she?" He took a quick sip of his beer.

Maryanne walked out of the Boars Nest. A young blond haired woman, Gail Tempest she recalled her name, approached her. "You're married to Rosco right?" Gail hadn't had the opportunity to meet Mrs. Rosco P. Coltrane. Rosco had been "married" once before but she had only been using him.

"Yeah?" It was a "so" kind of tone.

"Isn't he a bit old for you?"

"Yeah." What of it?

"How old are you?" Gail asked.

"Twenty-nine." She was already starting to dislike this woman.

Gail gave her a look. Was she oblivious of the age difference? "And you know how old he is?"

"Fifty-three." The red head said, like it was no big deal and meant nothing to her.

"He's old enough to be your father."

"So?" _And your point is?_ It never really bothered Maryanne what other people thought. But now something was starting to bother her. It had really been no big deal for her. There was only twenty-four years between them. She would be turning thirty soon.

"Nothin. A lot of woman date older men." It was rare around Hazzard though. How was dating older men any worse than dating and marring your own cousin?

"If it's nothin' why did you bring it up?"

Gail shrugged. "Folks have been talkin'

"What folks?" She never heard anyone talking bad about her and Rosco. The Dukes, Cooter, and Rosco's family had been nice about it.

She liked Rosco because he was different. He could protect her more than Ray ever could. She loved taking control of situations so then he would take charge. She looked up to him. He made her feel special.

"Just folks." She didn't want to cause problems between Maryanne and Rosco. "Look, Maryanne if you and Rosco are happy together that's all that matters. Some folks think it's nice that Rosco has somebody. He's been alone for all these years they were starting to wonder if he even….He had his heart broken twice." Rosco had seemed to have bad luck with women.

"Twice?"

"He had a thing for Daisy's mother, Lea Ann, growing up, and then that Sue Anne woman three years ago." Gail didn't know what would happen if he had his heart broken again. A lot of folks in Hazzard felt sorry for the Sheriff. Some of them were perhaps trying to spare him getting hurt by this woman.

_Rosco had had his heart broken twice_? Maryanne thought she had been the first one he loved.

"What are they saying?" Maryanne asked Gail.

"Ye know, just jokin' around a bit."

Maryanne turned around and stormed off toward her Firebird. _Why couldn't folks keep their mouths shut?_ She fumbled for her keys in her pants pocket. She put it in the lock shakily and turned it. She slid into the car.

Rosco put his handcuffs on Boss. The Duke boys discussed amongst themselves, that they'd trick Rosco into lock up Boss for Boss's own good. It was a rouse so Boss wouldn't interrupt their plan to fix things he started.

Bo and Luke stepped off to the side to have a private conversation. Rosco was trying to get Boss to cooperate. "I don't like lyin to Rosco." Bo confessed, glancing in the Sheriff's and the county commissioner's direction. They never lied.

"Awright, you're under arrest." Bo heard Rosco say.

"What….da….me?" Boss said like he was innocent. Rosco had arrested him once but Boss had been innocent. Rosco didn't believe in Boss being innocent twice. Boss was shocked, could he be losing Rosco, and no longer had a strong hold on him anymore to keep him in line? Rosco had always been his right hand man. He saw no way out of this.

"We're not lyin. It's for his own good." Luke stated. "It's just coming up with a little shuckin and jivin."

Boss threatened to have Rosco fired. But Rosco didn't put up with it this time. He was in fact losing his hold. All the hard work he put into making one honest man corrupt had gone down the drain, all because of that Maryanne, making Rosco happy and telling him to be more honest. Rosco only has known her for eight weeks and he listened to everything she said and did what she said. If she had him being nice to the Dukes, if that's what this was…..

"You stole the money. It's something you'd do." Rosco pointed a finger at Boss. "Don't you lie. I can tell when you're lyin." Rosco pinched Boss's flabby cheek. "You're little flabby cheeks turn red."

Boss would have shoved him away but his hands were handcuffed.

_**I don't know about y'all, but I didn't figure on seein' nuthin' like this when I got outta bed this mornin'.**_

"Rosco, you let me out of here." Boss demanded. Rosco ignored him. He was having a field day. As far as he was concerned Boss deserved it. He figured he'd enjoy it as long as possible. He knew the Dukes were using him but it felt good not to be used by Boss for once. He'll keep it up till it lasted and make the best of it.

When Boss demanded food Rosco had Cletus bring two bacon cheese burgers, double order of fries, two apple pies alamode, a diet coke and a milkshake from Venny's. Boss thanked him.

"This is not for you." Rosco brought the meal over to the cell and sat down at the desk closest. "It's for me." Enos came in with a tray of simple prison food. "That's for you."

Boss's mouth fell open. "Wha…

"You won't be in there for long Boss." Enos piped up. He unlocked the cell and slipped the food inside.

"Enos, hush." Rosco scolded. Enos knew about the Dukes plan but he didn't know pacifically what it was. Boss already suspected the Dukes tricking Rosco. What difference did it make? Instead he continued with, "Don't spoil my fun."

Cletus snorted and laughed at this, a big fat smile on his face.

"You hush, too ye dipstick." Rosco put up his fist.

As soon as it had come, the smile on Cletus's face vanished as he stopped laughing.

Maryanne sat in her firebird, watching Rosco as he worked. Just by looking at him you could tell that he was a man of authority. It was in the way that he walked, with his arms clenched in at his sides, so he could easily reach his gun, (assuming that wasn't how he normally walked.)

Rosco was taught to walk like that at the police academy. It made for a quicker draw. Plus it helped with his old arm injury when it was acting up. He had fallen out of a tree when he was six. It never healed right. To just his luck his left arm was the one injured and he was left handed. That's why his shooting was bad. He never told anyone, afraid it would have sacrificed his career. He never even told Mary. No doubt she saw his flaws but she stuck by him regardless.

Maryanne looked up to him. He was everything she could ever want. He was open to her but only when they were alone. When he was alone with her he was different. It was like he had a double life, like Ray had. Ray's job had meant more to him than her like Rosco's job was his life. He never let her in. She was afraid that Rosco was heading that way. What he did was considered criminal. Did she have a habit of falling for 'em? But he wasn't a criminal. He went against Boss this time and arrested him. He didn't keep his work separate from his life. But he kept his feelings separate from his job. When he was home with her, he told her almost everything, almost but not all. It was a start. Maybe the Rosco she spent time alone with was the real Rosco. She didn't know. Sometimes she wondered whether she had made a mistake when she let him into her and her daughter's life. She knew Rosco could be kind and generous but she also knew that because of his past experiences that made him cautious who he showed his feelings to. She thought that perhaps she could get through to him. She must be doing something right if he was comfortable sharing his feelings with her. And now to get him to open up to other people, that was going to be a challenge. But she did not want to rush into it in case she reopened the wound. Of course he wouldn't "open up" on the job. You had to shield your feelings. But he didn't have to treat people like he did. She wouldn't get the chance to. They would never be happy while people were talking behind their backs.

"Leave?" Rosco exclaimed. "You…..don't mean that." They'd been married 2 whole months. She said she had loved him. And she wanted to leave?

"Rosco, I can't stay if I'm gonna be an embarrassment to ye."

"You're not an embarrassment." He stepped toward her and put her hand gently on her shoulder. If anything he should be an embarrassment to her.

"Everyone's saying mean things, sayin' you're too old or I'm too young."

"That never bothered you before." None of that had mattered to her. At least she hasn't let it get to her.

"I don't want to risk your career."

"You told you that?" That sounded like something a Hogg would say.

"Gail Tempest. She stopped me outside the Boars Nest. She got me thinking about our age difference." But that wasn't the reason why she was leaving. "Age doesn't matter. Some folks said it only matters that we're happy. But we can't be when they're tryin' to….I want to be with you it's just…." Her green eyes filled with tears. They couldn't be happy when others were talking behind their backs, constantly reminding them their age difference.

"Maryanne, I don't want ye to leave." He said softly, putting her hand on the side of her face, wiping a tear off her face with his thumb. She put her hand on his.

"Please don't." She said taking his hand away. It would only make her miss his touch even more. "It's not that I don't care about you. I care about you a lot, more than I thought I could care about anyone."

She put her hands on the side of his face and gave him a quick kiss and then gave him a hug.

_**Maryanne thought it was for the best but for Rosco, his heart was breakin' again. He pretended it didn't really matter. He really loved her. And Maryanne really loved him too.**_

The booking room fell silent as the Sheriff entered, his feet seemed to drag. No one made eye contact for he was looking down at the ground. His deputies couldn't look at him.

Rosco took the keys from the hook and went over to Boss's jail cell, and unlocked it.

Enos looked up as he heard the sound of metal sliding, Cletus did too. Cletus stared, mouth agape at what he saw. Cousin Boss wasn't even saying a word.

_What is he doin? _Enos thought. _He's not supposed to let Boss out until the Dukes pulled through with their plan._

"You fellas step outside while Rosco and I have a talk." Boss told Cletus and Enos. Without a word they obeyed.

Boss tried to make eye contact with his brother-in-law to try and detect what he was feeling. But Rosco wouldn't look up.

"Rosco." It was a kind and concerned tone that escaped Boss's lips.

Rosco lifted his gaze. Boss attempted to find any recognizable emotion. Though he had caught the sheriff's gaze, even that it lasted only a millisecond, Rosco's gaze spoke volumes. Through the Sheriff's blood-shot eyes…were they blood shot?

"Is it…Maryanne?"

Rosco simply nodded and he turned and left the police station.

Boss knew that something was seriously wrong when Rosco stopped talking. It almost made you heart stop.

Later that night, Rosco knocked on Boss and Lulu's door. He hoped someone would come to the door or he'd catch his death in the rain, well the cold. He was safe from the rain under the porch. He didn't want to go back home. He didn't want to have to face Maryanne.

At first he had thought the knocking had been the thunder.

"Who in blue blazes in calling at this time of night?" The door bell had startled Boss from his sound sleep. His wife told him to go back to sleep.

Lulu answered the door. She saw her brother soaked from head to toe, his face seemed pleading and grief stricken.

"What happened? "

"I just…..wanted somewhere to stay."

"Where's Maryanne?"

"She's not comin

"She didn't kick you out?"

"No…..,

"If she didn't kick you out you have to go back over there and settle whatever has to be settled."

"There's nothing to be settled Lulu. I….I just can't go home right now with her…."

Unexpectedly, Boss came to his rescue. "Let him inside, Lulu. He can stay."

Rosco went to the Boars Nest. He had three beers, starting to feel the effects of the alcohol. Then he drank until he passed out in the middle of the floor.

Mike was about to give the Sheriff his usual. Rosco didn't want the usual.

"No buttermilk this time, Mike."

The bartender knew he shouldn't let Rosco drink but he always gave the costumer what they wanted.

Cooter entered the Boar's Nest. Rosco was walking toward him. The mechanic noticed the Sheriff's balance was off. "Rosco, you been drinkin?" He noticed Rosco was starting to have trouble to remain standing. Cooter and Mike rushed forward and caught him before he collapsed. Cooter laid Rosco down on the ground and looked up at Mike. "I think that's a yes."

Cooter dragged him, under the arms, to the back room. They laid him down on the couch. Luckily Boss wasn't there.

The mechanic and the bartender looked at the unconscious Sheriff, then at each other.

"I'm gonna go 'n call Jesse." Mike said. "It's been a long time since I've seen Rosco drunk like this. And I don't like it."

Cooter shook his head, agreeing, taking one more look at the Sheriff before he left the room.

* * *

Bo and Luke were about to make a citizen's arrest, with a little help from Enos. They had loose Cletus first.

"Pull over, Bo and Luke." Cletus said into the CB.

"I got 'im covered." Enos responded back.

"I was ordered by Boss…."

"Then come and catch us." Bo tempted him. Cletus ended up chasing Bo and Luke but as usual Cletus ended up in the drink.

**_A little dip in the Hazzard carwash, wouldn't hurt Cletus any. He needed a shower and so did his car. _**

"Yehaaw." Bo shouted excitedly. Luke smiled and slapped him knee. Their joy ride was short lived. Up ahead in a grey Trans Am was Hughie, John and Gill, and up above was the helicopter.

"Luke you see who's driving that Grey Trans Am."

"Yeah, Hughie Hogg."

"And I thought our day couldn't get any worse." Bo said, gripping the steering wheel his knuckles turning white.

"Leave that to me cousin." Luke took out the Bow and arrows from the back seat.

The helicopter was about to crash into the Hazzard lake. It was close enough to the water that the occupants could safely jump out into the water below. Once they did, Bo came to a stop hopped out of the General and headed toward the water.

When Daisy went into work, Mike told her what happened. She was the first one to see to Rosco in the back room. He was awake and sitting back on a couch.

Daisy looked at her Godfather. She looked into his eyes. They seemed distant, lost.

Rosco wanted to know what could make the pain go away. If booze didn't help, being sober was going to be a nightmare. He still thought about her, about Maryanne too.

"What's wrong this time?" Daisy asked.

"It's Maryanne…she's leavin'. He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand, like a child waking up from a nap.

"What? Leavin?" Daisy didn't believe what she was hearing.

"I got a song fer that too." He smiled. "Kew."

Jesse entered the back room, his gaze shifted to Rosco.

"Oh good grief." Rosco belted out his usual line when he was agitated. Even in his drunken stupor he wasn't too keen on Jesse getting into his business.

Mike squeezed in the room before the door shut behind him.

"Get on up off that couch." Jesse demanded Rosco, who blinked a few times.

"What…what are ye going to do?" Rosco tried not to sound scared of Jesse.

"I tell ye what I'm going to do. " Jesse pointed a finger at him, shaking it like accusing a child. "I'm goin' to…." Before he could finish his thought Rosco interrupted.

"What knock me into the middle of next week?" Rosco might've been rolling his eyes, but he was shaking in his boots, though he didn't show he was intimidated. It would have been showing if he wasn't drunker than a skunk.

"Yeah, m…." Jesse paused. "No. But as much as I want to….."

"The man is drunk Uncle Jesse." Mike said, watching the scene play out over the Duke patriarch's shoulder. He walked past him to Daisy.

"I ain't your Uncle." He turned to the bartender. Half this was his fault for giving Rosco alcohol in the first place. Mike should have known better. When the man was depressed he could really put it away. At Rosco's age he shouldn't be drinking heavily. Jesse turned back to Rosco. "Daisy help me get him up."

They both put an arm under Rosco's and pulled him up from the couch. They used the back door to avoid any unwanted attention. As they carried him to the parking lot, Rosco's feet dragged.

"Wait a minute." His vision was becoming dimmer and the world looked as if it was on the verge of being consumed by darkness. He could feel the darkness pressing in on all sides of his vision. Then the earth started spinning.

Daisy let go of him but Jesse kept a firm grip on the Sheriff's arm. The Sheriff swayed a little and came to lean against Jesse. Rosco was looking like he was going to lose his lunch, or diner.

"Are you gonna be sick?" Jesse asked.

"No." He shook his head. That just made the spinning worse.

"You better not. I just had my boots shined."

"I think I'm gonna pass out." He couldn't hold his liquor like he used to.

Jesse felt sorry but he also felt disgusted. His own pa, Elroy Duke had been an alcoholic. Rosco wasn't. He hated that Rosco was acting like one. "Hobby's the town drunk, not you. You'll lose your job over this and I won't have yer back on this one." He had always been there to defend Rosco the times he'd gotten drunk. Perhaps he was when Boss persuaded him to help with his schemes, after he had lost his pension. The lawman's legs seemed to buckle but Jesse caught him. He looked down, Rosco had passed out. There was a good chance Rosco hadn't heard him.

Daisy bent down to help. "I'll take it from here Uncle Jesse." She put her arm around Rosco's middle and lifted one of his arms around her shoulder. She led him to the back of the patrol car, managing to get him into the back seat.

Jesse got into the driver's seat of the patrol car; thankfully the keys were still in the ignition. Daisy got into the back to keep an eye on Rosco.

Cletus and Enos pulled the two men out of the water, while Luke and Bo were handling John, Hughie and Gill. Luke shot the arrows toward the grey Trans Am. The dynamite attached to them exploded once they hit their mark, exploding near the car.

Hughie and his cohorts managed to escape.

One of Hughie's cohorts ordered her into the car while the other had a gun on her. Once she was securely in the sedan the blonde cohort lowered the gun. Big mistake, Maryanne thought.

"What's the idea?"

Gill, the blonde explained to her that Hughie has them keeping an eye out for her. He might have other plans for you.

"Now I can stop feeling guilty about the bullets you didn't take." Her eyes burned with anger and he must have sensed it.

"Take it easy." Johnny, the brunette cohort said quickly. "You don't have any idea what it is…"

"Button it." She cut in. "I suppose your job would be easier if I'd stayed dumb, slow, and manageable." She said. She now knew what Hughie Hogg was trying to do. He was trying to make Rosco look bad by using her as a target.

Gill, the blond fought a smile. "And it just happened here, is that it?"

"A big bagful." She agreed grimly. "I'm not leavin. Get your Boss or Chauffer, or whatever you call him and get your posteriors out of here. And I'll be out of your way."

"No." John said. "That wouldn't be wise Mrs. Coltrane."

"So you're keeping me here as a prisoner."

"Not a prisoner, a valued guest." Gill corrected.

"Wrong. Nobody values a fool." She was a fool for even considering leaving him in the first place. "Especially the fool in question." She turned to Hughie who just climbed into the car. "If you think I'm leaving Rosco because if I stay it might ruin his career, you better think again." Maryanne opened the car door and got out. The door shut quietly behind her. Hughie would have felt better if she'd slammed it.

Her steps never hesitated. She covered the distance from the Hazzard County building with long quick strides, her temper hotter than the hottest summer day. Anger and humiliation at how she'd easily been fooled burned through her. The emotions flushed her pale cheeks like sunburn, though it was autumn.

**_She needed to find Rosco. She trusted him. And wanted him. But she couldn't face him right now. She had to cool down first. Knowing Maryanne, that'd probably take awhile._**

Bo was watching over Rosco while Jesse, Daisy and Luke went over to Maryanne's and Rosco's.

"I found him at the Boars Nest drunker than I've ever seen him."

"What?"

"Rosco needs you. He doesn't care what other people think. He cares about you. I was you I would re-think things a bit."

"Who cares what everyone else thinks. You two belong with each other."

"Don't let what Hughie's sayin' get to ye." Luke agreed.

"Maryanne if you leave him, it's gonna kill him." Daisy said.

"Oh dear Lord." She put a hand to her forehead. She didn't think that leaving would do more damage than not leaving. "I got to go see him." _Before he drinks himself to death._

"Not until he gets his head straight." Jesse said. He was at the farm, Bo watching over him. Luke had taken the General, Jesse, his truck, and Daisy her Jeep. There was no way Rosco would be going anywhere. Jesse never kept alcohol at his house, only medical shine. He had that very well hidden.

"I know your Uncle Jesse keeps moonshine under there." Rosco tried opening the kitchen sink but Bo was quick enough to block it. "I'm gonna have to confiscate it for evidence."

"That's medical shine. That's the only reason Uncle Jesse keeps it for and you know it."

"Do you want me to arrest you, Bo Duke cause I can." He reached the radio on his belt. "Boss this here is Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane. Come in little fat buddy. We got a little situation here…."

"I got other important things to attend to." Boss responded. He had to figure out what happened to the helicopter that was supposed to "rob" the bank. Then he would frame it on the Dukes.

"Looks like I'll have to handle this myself." Rosco hooked the radio back on his belt and moved toward the sink cupboard. "Just let me have it."

"Rosco, that stuff'll kill ya." Who knew how long that stuff was down there for? Not only that. Rosco was already drunk enough as it was. They had his patrol car hidden in the barn and his keys were in Bo's pocket. He wasn't going anywhere.

He just hoped Uncle Jesse and Luke would come soon. He didn't know how long he could keep holding Rosco off the shine. But he had to handle it. He didn't want Luke to rub it in that he couldn't handle Rosco on his own.

Cooter came in through the kitchen door. He paused and nodded at Bo. Bo tried to move his foucs off Cooter so Rosco would not see him.

"I don't care if it does. I…I can't live without 'er." Rosco continued.

"Rosco we still care about ye."

"No, you don't. It's not the same. I can't live without 'er I just can't." He turned to leave. He didn't seem to notice Cooter was there. "Where are my keys?" He patted his pockets.

"Why do you need your keys for?" Bo asked. He wanted to know what Rosco was thinking. If he handed Rosco his keys, who knows what he would do.

"I'm leavin. No one'll look for me. They don't care. She don't care no more. I don't want to be alone again. I can't live without 'er. I can't." He felt like getting into his patrol car and just crash it, maybe drive into the lake. If he was sober and thinking straight he would consider that he would drown, and that was an awful way to go. But he wasn't thinking straight.

Cooter grabbed him by the arms to keep him going out the door. "Listen to me Rosco….."

"She don't….." He seemed to be hyperventilating.

"Rosco…..Rosco get a hold of yourself, would ye?" Cooter couldn't snap him out of it. He sighed. He let go of Rosco, hands on his hips. Rosco made a move for the door but Bo grabbed him from behind, dragging him back. "I might regret this." Cooter said, and then he glanced up at the ceiling. "But I hope you forgive me for this." Cooter slapped the Sheriff across the face but not hard. It was more of a light tap.

"Cooter, do you want to get arrested?" Bo said shocked, hitting a law enforcement officer.

"Thanks Cooter, I needed that." It had sobered him up pretty fast.

Bo was even more shocked now. If a Duke had been the one that hit Rosco he probably would have charged him with assaulting an officer.

Luke and Daisy had walked out of the Coltrane House. Bo had CB'd them from the Duke Farm kitchen. Luke picked up the mike from the CB radio in Rosco's kitchen. Bo said Cooter was there with him and Rosco was still acting out of it. They don't think it's that serious but he advised them to get down there.

"You bet. We'll be on our way." Luke hung up the mike and walked back into the living room with Daisy. He informed his Uncle that Bo needed them at the farm. "We'll catch up with you later." Without a word being said, he and Daisy left the house. Maryanne and Jesse stayed to talk.

"He just has too much on his mind." Jesse said to Maryanne. The Sheriff always had something on his mind. It kept him from thinking straight and got him into trouble.

"Yeah." And she knew what he had on his mind too. Maryanne suddenly felt extremely guilty and realized that Rosco may be thinking. "Oh Jesse." She said, hugging him. She'd rather it was Rosco right now. "It's me ain't it?"

"No, Maryanne." It wasn't just her in general. It was her leaving Rosco. Rosco never drank unless he was really, really down. He had been many times before but he still had never drunk in a long time. Fourteen years it had been since the last time Rosco had been this drunk. He wondered what changed that, what made him lose control. Losing another person was what did it in.

He had been drinking in the Boars Nest several weeks ago but hadn't drunk until the point he passed out. This meant this was serious.

"You don't understand what I said to him."

"Maryanne." Jesse gently took her by the shoulders, so that she was forced to look at him. "It's not you. It's…..it's his past." He paused and drew in a heavy sigh. It was like dealing with Rosco. "Rosco….he loves ye. He really cares about ye and I know you care about him."

Maryanne nodded. "I do." She said, her eyes shifted to the floor. When she regained confidence in herself she looked the Duke patriarch in the eyes. "I'm not leaving Jesse. I've realized I love him too much. I'm not gonna leave him." She turned to leave. She was already at the door. But she stopped herself. Something important came to her. "When I was younger, she stepped away from the door, seeing all those girls getting their hearts broken, I used to laugh at them, saying "I'll never fall in love. If I did I'd look back and say how foolish I was," But I don't think that anymore." She had come to believe that Rosco had opened her eyes and heart in more ways than one. It struck her that two broken hearted people could be destined for each other. "Me and Rosco…." She couldn't explain it. But she was going to do it in the best way that she could. "I want to remember every minute for the rest of my days." With that she went out the door. She still needed time to figure out a way to tell Rosco that. She prayed that it wasn't too late.

It surprised her that a man who had lost so much that felt so much pain from being alone, was also kind. That kind of pain could harden a person's heart but not Rosco's. He tried to hide his kindness but it showed through his childish behavior. That kindness poured into her soul, (he was filled with so much kindness.)

She'd go to work and think about what to say. She could think best when she was working. Then she'd go after Hughie Hogg.

"She deserves you Rosco." Jesse said. "And you deserve her."

"She's a woman that wants to care for you and you want to care for her. Stop making excuses for yourself and give that girl somethin' to believe in." She smiled, and then looked up at Enos, who smiled down at her.

"Awright I will." She's break his heart but he had to try.

Hughie Hogg was up to his normal schemes as usual. He was planning to frame the Dukes with the money and merchandise he planted at their farm earlier. Boss wasn't happy when his nephew told him his plans. His nephew admitted to having the

"They'd be finding that merchandise any minute. And I'll have them Dukes locked up before you can say Judas Priest on a pony."

"Hughie Hogg, you no good…."

Hughie interrupted him, putting up a hand. "Save the compliments for later Uncle Boss." Hughie laughed and excited Boss's office.

**_At the Duke farm Rosco discovered that stolen arsenal from the electronic store before Hughie did. _**It was in the same barn Rosco's patrol car was. Hughie ain't so smart after all is he?

"Get this stuff out of here." Rosco ordered the boys. "It better not be here when I get back."

Bo and Luke looked at each other appalled. Was this the real Rosco? Luke was the one to speak first.

"Alright." Luke said. "We'll get to it." He nodded as Rosco got into his patrol car.

Rosco drove into the Boar's Nest partially empty parking lot. Maryanne's Firebird was parked in front and another car that he didn't recognize. It was a dark green sedan. He didn't know if he had the guts to face her. There was someone else in there right now. He decided to go in anyway.

**_Ole Rosco didn't know it but he was going to end up in a heap of trouble. _**

When he saw no one inside, he walked to Boss's backroom. The furniture was overturned and Boss's safe was wide open. And sitting in the middle of the room was Maryanne, tied up with a gag around her mouth.

"Maryanne." He walked over to her and started untying her. She said something but it was muffled by the gag.

"I'm tryin' my best darlin. I missed out on how to untie knots in boy scouts."

"Hmmm."

"Well it's not my fault. I was getting home sick and missed mama."

Maryanne rolled her eyes. She looked over toward the doorway Rosco had left opened. Her eyes widened at what she say. Rosco was too busy untying her bonds to notice her panicked look.

"Rfco…benfye." She couldn't get her voice out clear enough. He should have removed the gag first.

"I can't understand ye when ye got somethin' over yer mouth." He unties the gag around her mouth. "What were ye sayin?"

"Behind ye."

The man standing in the doorway had approached Rosco. By the time Rosco turned around the tall man had a chair in his hand. He swung it at Rosco who ducked in time. Rosco tried to stay on the offensive but was easily overpowered.

Maryanne crawled over to the man, and put her hand on his ankle and pulled hard. His feet flew out from under him and he was on the floor. She and Rosco ran out of the office. Only to be stopped by the tall man's crony.

"There always has to be two." She tackled for his legs. Once she knocked him down she had him pinned down. The robber wasn't the only one pinned down. They were struggling over Rosco's gun. Then there was a gunshot and she thought the worst had happened. But she spotted a fallen ceiling light that had landed on Rosco's assailant.

Maryanne handcuffed the one she had pinned underneath her. Rosco hadn't needed to handcuff the other one.

She went over to Rosco and hugged him. He put his arms around her. They both let out a joyous laughter.

"I meant to do that." He said, looking over at the man who was unconscious under the chandelier.

She didn't think it was possible for her smile to grow any wider. They broke the embrace, as she moved a strand of hair from her face and laughed again. But he wasn't laughing now. There was a silence. They awkwardly stood apart.

He looked away from her, trying to find an excuse to dismiss himself or have her dismissed. "I'll…..call Enos to help me clean this up."

Maryanne nodded. "I'll see you when you get home?" She said as she went to leave. He was going to ask her if she was still set on leaving but she was already out the door.

* * *

You can imagine how the rest of the story goes.

Maryanne ran into Daisy in town, who was grocery shopping. She'd really been spying on Hughie. Daisy CB'd the boys and told them what was up.

"You fellas gotta get that evidence outta there. Hughie's on his way."

"Hughie always had a crush on you." Luke said. Hughie was a sucker for Daisy's charm.

"He'll be fallen head over heels and drollin like a dog when I'm through with him. He'll forget all about you fellas." Daisy said with a smile. She was looking forward to seeing his face when he hurt his pride.

**_It's a good thing to know, not only Daisy likes seeing Hughie's pride being hurt. I can list quite a few. _**

Maryanne looked at Daisy, taken aback. "Daisy you're married." She took the mike from Daisy. "Hey ya'll, what about me?" Maryanne said into the mike. "Hughie was tryin' to hit on me earlier." "Maryanne you're married too." Daisy pointed out, even though they had a disagreement or whatever what was going on between them.

"I don't think for long." If she couldn't talk to Rosco would it destroy their marriage?

* * *

Cooter helped lift the never ending pile of electronics into Jesse's truck. "Usually…" He stopped to whip the sweat off his forehead. "Rosco would have a field day in catchin all y'all."

"No kiddin." Luke lifted the end of a pin ball machine into the truck, Bo lifted the front end.

"It's nice he's givin ya'll a break but I hope this all blows over soon."

"We know what cha mean." Bo said. "It's been rubbin us the wrong way."

* * *

Maryanne distracted Hughie while the Dukes got rid of the rest of the evidence. When Hughie tried to grab her he grabbed his arm and flipped him over onto his back. Before he got up she put a foot on his chest to keep him from getting up. Hughie being the pervert that he was, was still salvating like a dog, not litteraly. He was like a Hog in a mud bath. Maryanne brushed off her hands satisfied.

_**Hughie and his cohorts got away once again. Not before Bo and Luke put up a good fight. **_**_on the plus side the Dukes got the evidence out of their barn and returned it to the rightful owners. _**_**That was one problem solved. Know two of our friends are about to face something more difficault.** _

Maryanne would probably be waiting up for him, or he would find his house empty.

He felt like an intruder in his own house.

"Rosco?"

"Yeah, it's me." He turned on the light.

Maryanne sat up in bed and pulled back the covers. She blinked her eyes until they adjusted to the light.

He sat down on the edge of the bed. "You're not still plannin' on leavin?" He wasn't asking her if she was leaving the State. He knew she was staying. But did she still want to stay with him?

"No, Rosco." She swung her legs over the side of the bed and sat next to him. "I'm staying here." She put a hand to the side of his face. "I'm staying here with you."

He turned his head to look at her and placed his hand on his. He moved her hand away. Their eyes met for a brief second and then she leaned forward and kissed him. He didn't back away from her.

"Maryanne? I ain't ever felt anything this strong before." Not even with Lea.

"I know." She said. "I don't think I ever have either."

"You're beautiful you know that? I don't know if I'll ever find out how I gottcha."

"I think…It was me who actually got you." She didn't really care who got who. They probably had gotten each other. But she had gotten him first.

He put a hand on her face, placing his fingers on the back of her neck.

She looked down slightly, a big grin on her face. She let out a joyful laugh. He was finally getting it.

He kissed her. Something he hadn't had the courage to do for something he wanted to do for a long time. He suddenly felt alive again. It seemed as if all the pain from his grief and from his broken heart he tried hiding all those years had evaporated in a second. His heart beat with a new purpose. He was actually able to love someone again.

When they stopped kissing, he looked at her. She was smiling. He smiled too. She hugs him.

**_I don't think I'd want to see anymore of that. But I'm glad she's stayin. You see you can't go wrong with love. Those bonds can be the strongest. Love might sting for awhile but Everythin turns out right in the end, even in Hazzard County._**

AN: The title of this chapter is a play on of the John Holt song, "Police in Helicopter."


	16. The Return of Mrs Rosco P Coltrane

- How will Maryanne react when Sue Anne McGraw comes back to Hazzard?

_**Sue Anne McGraw is back in Hazzard. And this time what she plans is a doozy.**_

"The Missus and the ex. Welcome to every man's worst nightmare." Cooter says from the entrance of the Boars Nest_**.**_

Sue Anne and Maryanne are in the Boar's Nest. Sue Anne "Run along, little girl." She walks past Maryanne.

_**I sense a cat fight.**_

Maryanne jumps on Sue Anne. Sue Anne tries to get her off. They knock into table, breaking glasses.

* * *

Maryanne begin teaching karate at the Hazzard Gym. The classes were only available for young children of course, and free of charge. She didn't mind that Boss wouldn't pay her one measly red cent. She didn't want to get payed for the art that she loved.

Bo waited till the class was over. He noticed she had two medals around her neck.

After the karate lesson was over, Maryanne spotted Bo and

"You win those?"

"Yeah." She said proudly. "I won it at a tournament when I was in high school."

"There's even a girl on it, goin' Hi-ya." Bo made a karate move with his hands.

She snatched it away from him and walked away.

"What? What'd I say?" You could say that Bo was a male chauvinist pig and a womanizer. He thought they were fragile and men like him could protect them. If Maryanne wasn't Rosco's wife, Bo would think she was hot.

He walked in on her once. He had knocked on her the door of the Coltrane house. Luke was with him.

"Coming." She had said. Bo had thought she had said "Come in."

When he opened the door he saw the Maryanne was buttoning her shirt. She looked up, her eyes wide that he had seen her.

He shut the door as Luke walked up from behind him.

"What? What is it?"

Bo told look he had to talk to Maryanne. Luke went back to the General.

"I didn't want him to see ye." Bo answered her when she demanded what he was doing.

"I thought you said come in."

"I said coming. Next time wait till I open the door."

"And we don't talk about this to anyone."

Maryanne nodded. They both awkwardly look away from each other.

Cooter and Luke were driving around in his tow truck. A coach bus came to a stop beside them.

"Who is that?" Cooter spotted a brunette haired woman.

_**Ya'll know who that is? That's Sue Anne McGraw. Looks like prison didn't change her much on the outside and I bet it didn't on the inside either. **_

"That's Rosco's ex-wife." Luke recognized her immediately.

"Come again." Cooter leaned forward in his truck to get a closer look at the woman. What suddenly made Rosco get the attractive woman. Catching a full glimpse of her, he shrugged. Maryanne was way better looking. But she always gave him a hard time.

"Sue Anne Bliss. Her real name is Sue Anne McGraw. She suck n' jived Rosco into marrying her while her husband robbed the bank."

"No wonder you were on edge about Maryanne."

"Rosco won't be too happy to see her."

_**Maryanne was teaching Bo some moves, he was convinced without training he was able to hold his own. In other words he thought he was stronger because he was a man.**_

He started thinking of an excuse when he was starting to be proved wrong. "Maryanne, we've been doing this for an hour. Let's go the tournament's over."

"I know. But I want to be ready when you're up against those goons Boss hires."

"Well, don't you worry about that, with Rosco's shooting and driving we is more liable to catch them, and Luke and I handle the rest."

Luke rushed into the gym. "Bo, I gotta talk to ye."

"You handle the rest?" A few times she had helped them out of situations. She helped stop

"Don't take this the wrong way, you see…..Me and Luke are like Robin Hood and you're more like Snow White."

Was he comparing her to a seductress? Snow White lived with seven men. Maryanne considered herself average looking. Red hair, and pale skin, and freckles weren't nessecarly attractive, she thought anyway.

And Robin Hood always saved the damsel in distress in the stories. She was not a damsel in distress. She could handle her own just as the boys could. Luke could handle his own fairly well. Bo had to rely on Luke most of the time and the General. "The only reason you can escape Rosco is because the General Lee. If you didn't have him you'd be just as defenseless as Cletus." She was going to say Enos and Rosco but she couldn't insult them.

Even they could hold their own, even in a life and death situation.

"Just because I'm a better driver doesn't mean I can't handle my own."

"Yeah. "

"Bo we got a problem. Sue Anne is back." Luke didn't care about their disagreement.

"You want a piece of me?"

"No, actually I think I had enough of you." She picked up her jacket from the bench and left the gym.

"Yeah? Well…. right back at yeah." Bo called to her.

Luke patted Bo on his shoulder. "Direct hit. I think you sunk her battleship." He said sarcastically.

Bo, having not heard him turned his head toward Luke, "Who's back?"

Sue Anne was waiting at the courthouse, where she was sure where the Sheriff would be. Flash She barked at Sue Anne. "Nice doggie." She put out her hand to pet her. Flash barked again. It made Sue Anne jump back.

**_The boys, Luke and Cooter were talking to Maryanne about Sue Anne. Well Luke. Cooter didn't know Sue Anne just about what Luke told him. And Bo he was staying clear of Maryanne for awhile. _**

**_What do you reckons gonna happen when Maryanne comes across her? _**

Bo and Luke were cruising around in the General. They were looking for Rosco. And he wasn't that hard to find. He was out by one of his speed traps. He had pulled over an out-of-towner and was issuing him a traffic ticket.

"Rosco what are ye doing to the poor fella?" Bo asked. When Rosco wasn't giving them false tickets he was forcing them on innocent outsiders.

The out-of-towner was driving a maroon-ish-brown car. He poked his head out the window to get a closer view of the boys. "Don't worry about it fellas. I probably deserved it." He had brown hair and a mustache.

"Yeah, you were doing forty-five in a twenty-five mile zone." Rosco

"Yeah? How am I supposed to know that when there's no sign around here?" The driver asked smartly.

Rosco started to walk closer to the driver's window. "Next time you better….." Bo stopped him, stepping between the driver and Rosco.

Bo put his arms out. "Whoa, whoa Rosco."

"Rosco take it easy will ye?" Luke said. Rosco treated everyone else like he was doing now. It wasn't fair on a visitor.

"Yeah, take it easy." The outsider mimicked.

"Hey, you better get moving along pal." Luke wasn't giving it as a suggestion.

"Oh, so this how it works around here. And you side with the Sheriff." Tony knew who he was. Sue Anne had given him a description of him. All he had to do was drive around until she came what she got here for without his cover getting blown.

"We don't side with nobody." Luke said, especially Rosco, but if only he was on the right side of the law or if he was in trouble. "You best watch that snarky mouth, or I shut it for ye." It was Bo's turn to be agitated with the man.

"In Hazzard, we don't take well to those who break the law." Luke explained.

"That's right, we take action." Rosco said.

"Oh yeah? What are you going to do about this?" Tony ripped up the ticket and peeled off.

"That just tares it." Rosco took out his ticket book. Bo came over to him to see if he was ok. "I got his license plate. I'll give him a ticket, for speeding and litterin."

Bo smiled and patted him on the back.

"Before you do that Rosco, there's something me and Bo need to tell ye.

"If you think that got you riled up, Sue Anne's back." Bo, mentioning her name, seemed to make Rosco jump a foot.

Rosco looked around him, "Where?"

It made Bo laugh though he didn't mean to. No matter how old you were, you were always cautious about your ex, especially the crazy ones.

"Now you listen Bo and Luke Duke if this is some kind of a joke…."

Luke cut Rosco off. "It's not Rosco. Sue Anne is back in Hazzard." Rosco went three shades pale. "We don't know what she's back here for."

"I know." Rosco said, putting his hands on his hips. "She probably wants to make a fool out of me again."

"What are you going to do about her when you see her?" Bo wondered. Rosco would have to face her some time or other. If he was in trouble they'd be behind him every step of the way, if Sue Anne put one foot out of line.

Rosco decided he'd go to the Boars Nest and think of what to do.

"We'll tell yeah if she's up to something." Luke walked to the General. Bo followed him and got into the driver's seat.

"Can't you believe when we mentioned Sue Anne he forgot about giving us a ticket?" Bo was in disbelief. "Maybe having her isn't a bad thing."

Luke looked at him like, "you can't be serious."

Bo put his hands up defensively. "Temporarily." Bo smiled all the way home.

**_I wouldn't believe it either._** **_I guess when they're both on the same side of the law; Coltrane vs. Duke History didn't seem to matter._**

**_Now Boss did some very mean low down things in his prime, but this one takes the cake. _**Boss is in his office at the courthouse, wearing a chief's hat**_._** He was frosting a cake while he was talking with Sue Anne. **_Uh I mean icing. He hasn't been using Rosco to help him with most of his schemes lately. He had a plan brewing all this time, get Maryanne to leave. And now he could by using Sue Anne McGraw. _**

Sue Anne sat on Boss's desk filing her nails. "What's in it for me?"

"In due time Miss Bliss, in due time."

It didn't matter how much money Hogg gave her as long as it was enough to get her by to Mexico. She could easily interfere with the Sheriff's relationship. His current wife didn't know anything about her, or so she thought. She had a few ideas of her own to figure in. She'd get the Sheriff to do her one last favor. Mr. Hogg's offer fit in perfectly, but it would come at a price. The reputation of his Sheriff would be destroyed completely. _Love hurts, and so does art, the art of seduction. _

As Enos was walking out of the Sheriff's department he saw a woman walk out of the courthouse toward him. Enos put his cautious guard up because she seemed like a woman that would get her way with her beauty. **_It wouldn't work on Enos because he only had eyes for Daisy, like Rosco only had eyes for Maryanne. Yep, those two are good old fashioned boys….not that Bo and Luke ain't. _**

"Excuse me, could

"No ma'am. I haven't seen the Sheriff all day."

"Oh poo." She pouted and looked down sadly at the sidewalk.

"You might find 'im at the Boars Nest."

Sue Anne's expression changed when she half way looked up, a sinister smile on her face, but it changed again when she looked at Enos. She smiled. "Thanks.

Cletus came out of the Sheriff's department and walked over to Enos as Sue Anne got into a maroon-ish-brown car.

"You know who that was?" Cletus asked Enos. He would remember that face from anywhere.

Enos shook his head.

"That was Rosco's ex-wife."

"Possum on a gum bush. Sue Anne Bli….." Cletus put a hand over his mouth. **_Yes, even Enos knows about her. Everyone is Hazzard does. Daisy wrote to Enos about Sue Anne and what she did to Rosco, while he was in L.A. He told her stories about…._**

"Not here." Cletus removed his hand.

"What's she doin in Hazzard?"

"Never mind that." Cletus said like he was in charge. "Did she say she where she was goin?

"The Boar's Nest."

"Enos you open your mouth too much."

Enos followed after Cletus to the patrol cars. "You do too. You breathe out yours." Enos wasn't insulting Cletus. He was just telling him the honest truth. You could never tell when he was insulting you. His tone's the same for everything. I don't think he ever did anything to offend anyone.

Sandy May sat in the back seat of the Firebird as her mother drove.

"Mommy."

"You're going to Aunt Lulu's."

"You're not coming to?"

"Mummy needs to take care of something first."

"The bad lady?"

"Yep." That's all she said. **_She didn't want her child being caught in the cross fire._** **_When a woman feels threatened, you better know it. _**

Rosco wasn't prepared for the encounter with Sue Anne but he did need to face his past to put it behind him. She looked the same as ever, only her hair was a little longer. He spoke first to give off the impression that he wasn't a fool like she had played him for anymore. It was like he was seeing through a different view since he met Maryanne.

"I bet they got ye doin' community service, makin' ye see yer errors of your ways, breaking a sweat."

"I've changed Rosco." She only believed in second chances in people like Rosco. They were fool enough to give people like her a second chance.

He didn't feel anything for this woman. She had used him, coldly for her scheme, for her own gain. She played him for a fool, humiliated him. Their marriage had been a sham, the first annulment in the history of Hazzard County.

She was cold. How dare she throw herself at him, telling him she had feelings for him?

"I love Maryanne, ye see." He backs up from her. "And it's serious now. She gives me the vapors." He wouldn't leave Maryanne. He didn't feel anything, like he didn't for Lea anymore. Lea had also broken his heart but she never did anything as cold as this.

Sue Anne made advances toward him and kissed him. He jerked away a little bit but she put her hands on his shoulders and had him cornered against the wall.

She wasn't getting anywhere. That girl had opened his mind. He wasn't as much of a fool as he was. Rosco was a nice man. He would do her one more favor, for a nice jester. She had to get him to take her over the Georgia boarder to Texas. Then from there she'd get on a bus to Mexico and she'd be free.

She moved a hand off his shoulder and placed it on his belt buckle. She started pulling at it. She leaned in and whispered in his ear, "I want you Sheriff." To this he was breathing a little deeper. "What are you doing with that young little thing? Why don't you be with a real woman?"

The Sheriff's wife came in. "What do you think you're doing?" She stormed forward. "Get your hands off my husband."

Sue Anne turned toward Maryanne, so did Rosco.

"Maryanne, she….." Rosco pointed a finger at Sue Anne. He was unable to finish his sentence because he was interrupted.

"Cornered you, I know." The new Mrs. Coltrane put her hands on her hips.

Sue Anne walked toward Maryanne but walked around her instead, "Run along now, little girl."

"I am not a little girl."

"No? Perhaps you're just crazy. Guess you got to be if you love someone like Rosco."

That was it. This woman was pushing Maryanne's buttons in more ways than one. No one called her crazy or messed with her man. She made an acceptation when Mabel was flirting with him because it was nothing more than a harmless little girls crush. Sue Anne had another thing coming. She wasn't trying to steal Rosco from her; she was going to hurt him again. And Maryanne wouldn't let that happen. What was she thinking coming back here? If anyone was crazy it had to be her. "Call me crazy one more time."

"I said cra…"

Maryanne jumps on Sue Anne. Sue Anne tries to get her off. They knock into table, breaking glasses.

The Boar's Nest was opening up. Bo, Luke, Daisy, Enos and Cletus all entered. Bo was complaining about a ticket Cletus gave him, and Daisy was coming in to work. They walked in to Maryanne and Sue Anne fighting on the floor.

Rosco just stood frozen to the spot where he had been for the past five minutes. He didn't know if he should be flattered that two women were fighting for him. Sue Anne was for a completely different reason, to use him again. He started to wonder if Sue Anne was right. That someone had to be crazy enough to love him. He sensed that there was a little sliver of felling Sue Anne felt for him, in her sad, twisted, and desperate way. She was looking for someone to love.

Maryanne, she had been lonely when she meet him, they both were. Her father left her when she was four and she only had been interested in way older men. Men that were old enough to be her father. In the first several weeks of their marriage it had felt like she had been trying to seek his approval.

Just when he thought he had her figured out. She wasn't that over possessive before until Sue Anne came. With what Sue Anne had done with him she was just trying to protect him and perhaps at the same time she was feeling threatened. Sue Anne was the first one to provoke a fight.

"Aren't you going to break that up?" Luke directed to the deputies.

"I can't….that…" Cletus motioned to the women who were fighting in a cloud of dust.

"Cletus just don't stand there." Rosco demanded. He came over. "Grab…..not Maryanne, her."

Daisy tried breaking it up. She immediately drew her hand back. "Ow. Sue Anne. You bit me." She examined her hand a brief moment and then cheered Maryanne on. "Maryanne get 'er." Normally she wouldn't approve of fighting to settle anything.

"That's it." Rosco was going to grab Sue Anne himself. No one brought Daisy into anything. Before he could get any further, Enos stopped him.

"I got this Sheriff." Enos walked over to Maryanne, who got to her feet. Enos was hesitant to grab her.

"Let's go." Luke said to Bo. "Looks like they got everything taken care of." He wanted to take the opportunity to slip out unnoticed while Cletus had forgotten to give them a ticket.

"Are ye kiddin" Bo asked excitedly, when two women are fighting over Rosco? This I can't miss." He then remembered his and Maryanne's little argument a couple of hours later. He not dare stay behind and risk that confrontation. She just kicked Sue Anne's butt. Maryanne looked his way and gave him a look that said, "I told you." "On second thought let's go." He and Luke both left the Boars Nest. Cooter came in, standing in the entrance. "The Misuses and the ex. Welcome to every man's worst nightmare." Cooter could show up at the most random times. Yep, leave that to Cooter.

Bo and Luke look at each other and lead Cooter out, to which Cooter protests, "Hey I wanna see..."

Cletus had no trouble getting hold of Sue Anne, whose hair was tangled around her face and huffing out angry breaths. Maryanne's hair was still perfectly in place. Only a few of her ends were sticking out from static electricity.

"Much obliged Cletus." Maryanne thanked him as she made her had into a fist. "Now hold her still."

Sue Anne seemed to flinch even thought she was held be Cletus.

Enos grabbed Maryanne's hand, still a little hesitant that she might turn around and swing at him.

"Who all started this fight?" Enos asked.

Rosco, who had been silent the rest of the time, spoke "Sue Anne did." He said coming over to Enos and Maryanne. He hated to lie. But he wasn't really lying. He was telling the half truth. Sue Anne provoked it but he didn't say that Maryanne had started the actual fighting.

"I bet you were a hair puller." Sue Anne

"You're right I was." Maryanne pulls Sue Anne's hair. They were pulled apart again by Enos and Cletus.

"That just proves my point." She glanced to Rosco back to Maryanne. "Deep down, you're just a sad little girl with daddy issues." She was lead out, Cletus in front of her and Enos behind.

Maryanne wouldn't let what Sue Anne said to her get to her. No matter what anyone said she'd still be Rosco's. But was she crazy?

She was just protecting Rosco from that horrible woman. A woman Rosco never spoke of. He never told her that he was married before, even if the marriage had only lasted two hours, still. She understood why he never told her about her because he had been so humiliated by her.

It started to make her wonder. Had there been other women in Rosco's life he never told her about besides Sue Anne and Daisy's mother.

When you were dating someone you weren't supposed to talk about past loves too early in the relationship. They weren't dating, they were married. Married couples were supposed to tell and share everything with each other not keep secrets.

It was too soon to talk about his previous love lives.

She caught a glimpse of him. He wasn't making eye contact with her and he was blushing. It was odd for a man his age to be but it turned her on. He'd usually cover it up by acting frustrated. That was even more attractive when he did that. Smiling, she walked over to him. "Thanks for coming to my rescue."

"You came to mine first." He smiled but she thought she caught a glimmer of sadness in them.

Not again. After everything she did to try and make him happy. She wasn't going to let that woman ruin it. The sooner Sue Anne left the better. She hugged him putting her head on his chest. "What she said isn't true. I just….I just felt threatened by her is all."

"You don't have to feel threatened by her." There was no one else Rosco would lay his eyes on rather than Maryanne.

"I know you don't want anything to do with her. It's not that. I just don't want her to hurt you again."

"You mean make a fool out of me again." He couldn't hide that from her forever.

She nodded. "That too, she paused to look up at him, because you're not."

* * *

Daisy was out hanging the laundry. Enos was outside with her.

"You sure you don't need to go to Doc Appleby?" Enos was concerned about her as usual, all the more now that they husband and wife. "It could get infected. They say a dogs mouth is cleaner than a humans."

Daisy tried not to laugh. "Enos, I'll be fine." She pinned a shirt on the line, presumable one of Uncle Jesse's night shirts. "I already called Doc Appleby. I just need to change the wrappings every few days and put peroxide on it." She frowned. "I hope I don't catch anything." Daisy said, looking at her bandaged hand.

Jesse, Bo and Luke were in the kitchen. Uncle Jesse was shucking corn from a basket on the table.

"Promise me you boys won't get involved in this unless you nessecarly have to." He had this speech with the boys. Rosco could get himself out of trouble, unless there was no possible way out of it. And Rosco didn't come to them till unless it was nessicary. It would sound fair but Jesse had to go against his judgment. Rosco wasn't in any real danger so the boys had no need to get involved. He was glad though Sue Anne was arrested for aggravated assault, two counts of it. She wouldn't be causing Rosco any trouble. But if he were to give her a second chance…some people just weren't worth it.

"She's behind bars, Uncle Jesse." Luke grabbed an ear of corn. "She ain't goin nowhere."

**_Uh huh, it all depends on Rosco._**

* * *

"I didn't think I could love anyone else after Lea, then after what Sue Anne did to me…." The memory made Rosco feel worse. He never told Maryanne about them because you weren't supposed to talk about other women that had been in your life. "Maryanne awakened feelings in me I thought I didn't deserve to feel anymore."

"Why do you think you don't disserve to be loved Rosco?" Daisy wondered. No matter what he'd done it shouldn't make anyone stop loving him. His mother loved him, Lulu loved him, Maryanne, even she loved him.

"If ye been alone as long as I have…..

"You're not really alone Sheriff. You have all your friends in Hazzard." ….._and a nice beautiful woman that could have been me, if I hadn't used you and pretended like I had nothing to do with it._ _I could've taken off with the money my husband robbed and we could have had our honeymoon in Mexico while I left an anonymous tip and they arrested him. They still would have found half the money with him. But I was still deeply in love with my husband then. _Sue Anne McGraw was truly Sue Anne Bliss this time. She and her husband had a divorce. They finalized the papers in prison.

"It doesn't concern you."

Daisy wondered if she should stay. She was getting a vibe that Rosco was angry. She never had seen Rosco angry for real. She didn't leave until Rosco told her she was excused. "Can you please excuse us Daisy. I have to have a talk with our prisoner here."

Daisy nodded and made her way out of the Sheriff's department.

Rosco hit the side if the filing cabinet with his fist.

Sue Anne grabbed the bars of her cell. "My, ain't someone angry." He was a nice person. She wondered where that anger had come from. It sort of scared her as well as turned her on. He was cute. She hadn't been lying about that.

"You're not going to fool me twice. Whatever you're planning you can forget it." He wasn't going to fall for her innocent act.

"All I want is one more favor from you Sheriff." He would give her one more chance. She knew he would. He was the type of person that believed in second chances. It didn't make him a fool, trusting a complete stranger that he met on an internet dating service made him a fool. But she changed. If he got caught taking her over the Georgia boarder that would be collateral. She was going to run away with him, if she got caught she'd bring her down with her.

Being locked up in prison had made her insane. Prison could be tough on some people. He was a Sheriff but she didn't care about that. He'd come with her and she'd convince him to stay with her. She'd force him saying he would turn him in if he didn't stay. She'd kill him then herself if anything failed. It'd be east to take him. He was old and weak by the looks of it. Maybe that little young wifey was too much for him. "I need you to take me over the Georgia border and I'll be out of your hair forever."

The offer was tempting. The Sheriff took pity on her. That was a mistake.

"He'll do it." Sue Anne said into the phone. She was aloud one phone call. Tony who was a friend of her ex-husband, Mr. McGraw, had agreed to take her to Hazzard. She had been on trial and was out on parole. The trial was going to be resumed but she left. Her husband would not get parole for a long time.

Sue Anne paused, leaving a long silence. Could she do this to this sweet man again? That's what his problem was. He was too sweet, too forgiving. That's what made it easy.

Tony was growing suspicious. "Don't tell me you're falling for him."

Sue Anne wasn't sure. It was something about the much younger Mrs. Coltrane that made her drawn to him. "Don't be ridiculous?" Was she?

* * *

The Dukes had Enos do a background check on Sue Anne.

"She wasn't supposed to leave the state. She's still on parole." Enos announced.

"Rosco's in more doody than before ain't he?" Maryanne figured something like this was going to happen. "He wouldn't like help her cross the border or nothing."

"Well…." Luke looked to each of his cousins.

"He is Rosco." Bo said. Rosco could be an idiot sometimes. He was way over his head with Sue Anne. Maryanne was giving Bo the same look as earlier. Bo didn't see it this time.

"He helps people who don't deserve it, like we help people." Luke explained. Believe it or not, Rosco did help people. It was the honest law man in him that they had believed was gone.

"But even we would know not to help her." Bo stated. Not after what she did to Rosco.

"Maybe she gave him and ultimatum?" Maryanne went deep into thought.

"Depends on what it was. He wouldn't help her obviously if he knew she was on the run." Luke stated the logical answer.

"What are we gonna do?" Worry was evident in Daisy's voice. "If they're caught he could go to jail for assisting and abiding escape." Daisy had become fond of Rosco. He was the closest thing she had to a parent (besides Uncle Jesse.) and she could lose him, again.

"But he wouldn't do that, unless he was doing it without knowing she's on parole." Bo.

"I'm going after him. Someone needs to get him out of trouble." Maryanne made sure her handcuffs were hooked on her belt. She also carried with her a bottle of pepper spray.

"We're going too." Bo said. He wasn't going to wait for an invitation.

* * *

Rosco must have taken his patrol car. It seemed that Sue Anne wanted to get caught. Or she thought she could go undetected and the police would think Rosco was bringing her in, on first glance anyway. But if they pulled them over and he said he wasn't...Rosco would be looking at ten years to life.

Someone like Rosco would not survive in the federal pen. Not because he was Rosco but because he put half the guys in there. Luke had never been this worried about this man in his life. The Sheriff was like a new person these past few weeks. It seemed that he was honest more often. Was he finally breaking free of the hold Boss had on him? Luke didn't know what to think of that at the moment. They had to find Rosco first before the Atlanta or any police did.

He tried to think of any leads. "Hey, you remember that maroon car that drove into town this morning?" They were riding in Maryanne's patrol car. She had authorty to allow Bo and Luke over the county line as long as they were with her. "You think he has a connection with Sue Anne?" Bo asked Luke.

"Let's find out." Bo suggested.

"How are we going to do that?" Maryanne asked.

"You don't know what we're talking about."

"I have the right to no everything that involves my husband."  
They were about to get into a fight again but dropped it.

"Rosco said he had the license plate number." Bo said to Luke.

"Which is with him." Where else would it be?

"No, but I got it to. I memorized it." Bo took off his jacket.

"That owner of that car might be listening in. We'll have to contact Uncle Jesse." Luke grabbed the CB mike. He aked Maryanne, "You mind if I..."

"Go ahead, once again it involves my husband I don't mind if you touch my stuff."

**_Luke_****_gave Uncle Jesse the heads up and Bo gave him the license plate number_**_._

"But go to the Sheriff's department in person. We don't want everyone's ears hearin this."

Soon after they messaged Jesse, Boss's voice bellowed over the CB, shouting the usual for Rosco.

"We're looking for him too Boss." Luke said into the mike. "He went to take Sue Anne over the Georgia boarder."

"And guess what she's on parole." Maryanne grabbed the CB mike from Luke.

Bo grabbed the CB from her next. "And you know what that means."

"Ooh that'll ruin me." Boss grimaced. "I mean..him." If Rosco's reputation was ruined he was ruined.

"Don't worry Boss, we'll make sure that yours and your Sheriff's hide's don't get burned." Luke told him. These were one of those days they needed to help Boss.

With Enos's help they were able to track down the car. It belonged to a Tony Hawthorne.

Why did they almost never steal cars anymore? On the plus side it spared them the wild goose chase. The cards were more likely to fall into their hands.

They found Tony in no time. Maryanne said she'd handle this one.

"Evening officer, what can I do for you?" Tony asked innocent like.

"I think you know." Her facial expression told him all he need to know. He couldn't let his cover get blown. He ran toward Maryanne, Luke was ready to jump out of the car.

Maryanne punched Tony in the nose.

"I think she broke my nose." Tony put his hand over his face.

Bo and Luke were out of the patrol car in an instant.

"Mess with my husband and that won't be the only thing that'll be breakin darling."

Bo and Luke didn't want to get into that.

"Tell us where they went." Luke said.

"Highway 19. Just get this lady away from me." He was still bent over.

"Not that easy hot shot, you're coming with me." She put handcuffs on him and put him in the back seat of the patrol car.

**_I cant tell ye, not even one bone in that man's body is broken. _**

* * *

The police pulled Rosco over. Sue Anne watched as they arrested him and read him his rights as one cop put handcuffs on her. As she watched on, it seemed she was having second thoughts.

"Wait. He is my ex-husband." A siren of a Hazzard County patrol car sounded as it pulled up. The sound of car doors slamming shut rang in her ears. She had to explain before the others approached the Dukes and the Sheriff's wife. No, she had a better idea. She'd prove to them she had changed. But you didn't get three changes if you're like Sue Anne, not even in Hazzard and not even from a Duke. "He didn't know any better. I tricked him."

The officer stared at the decal on the car. "Must not've, not very smart using his own patrol car."

"Yeah, she tricked him alright." Hearing the English accent and seeing that flaming red hair coming her way, Sue Anne had an instinct to book it. The only place she'll be booked is jail.

"We can both vouch for that." Bo said as he and Luke came over.

"The Duke boys, I heard you're still on probation." The other officer that had put cuffs on Rosco said. He was smiling, three probation violators in one day. It was like his birthday and Christmas. Maryanne put a damper on his day.

"They're with me." She said. "They were given permission and are under my watch." The officer, Jenkins, his name was, his smile vanished like it was smacked of his face. "I got a suprise for you in the back." She looked toward her patrol car where Tony sat.

"I'd like to say one thing." Rosco turned to the Atlanta officer. "Book 'er." Rosco said with no emotion what so ever.

"Rosco…." Sue Anne said in her soft, innocent voice.

Rosco paused, giving her no longer than a brief glance over his shoulder, "Goodbye, Sue Anne."

"Wait." She pleaded with the officer leading her away. She told him something and he nodded. He stayed close behind her. Bo and Luke were nearby and the other officer, and Maryanne if she tried to run. **_You think that'll hold 'er?_** She walked up to Rosco. "I couldn't go through with it. Maybe I have changed."

The Sheriff was still hurt. He wanted this woman out of his sight so he wouldn't have to look at her again. He believed in helping people and this is what he got in return.

"Sheriff, look at me."

He shook his head and then looked at her.

"I meant what I said before about bein' cute and all. I would've loved to be you wife." She kissed him. Bo and Luke had to hold Maryanne back.

"Let me at 'er." She struggled but couldn't break free from both of them.

Jenkins undid Rosco's handcuffs. His partner was about to put Sue Anne in the patrol car. When Maryanne seemed to have calmed down enough Bo and Luke let go of her. She breathed in and out trying to get her anger under control. She moved a few strands of hair that had blown in her face. She couldn't take it anymore. She ran toward Sue Anne and Sue Anne took off running, around the parking lot.

**_No one called Rosco a fool this time. What Sue Anne did was just plum evil. You never messed with the Sheriff twice. _**

"That stunt with Sue Anne, starting a fight with her and chasing her down in the parking lot that was to teach me a lesson right?" Bo asked her.

"Partly…guess you'll never know. " The truth was she forgot about all their little fight.

Daisy was in the kitchen with Rosco. She cooked him a nice hot meal. Shehugged him, glad he was back and she kissed him on the cheek. She pulled away nervously when Maryanne entered.

"Maryanne, I was just….." After seeing her reaction to Sue Anne earlier at the Boar's Nest, Daisy felt she had the need to be cautious.

"No, it don't bother me none. You're his goddaughter." She waved her hand indicating that it was no big deal and she trusted her. She walked over to the fridge and got out a bottle of buttermilk. She shut the fridge and turned back to Daisy. "It's not like I'm crazy." She walked out of the kitchen.


	17. Tennessee White Whiskey

Chapter 17: Tennesse White Whiskey

-Maryanne is running moonshine for an "old" friend. Boss hires someone to frame the Duke Boys without knowing it. He hires the best moonshine runner in the next country, (from across the pond.) Things take an unexpected twist when that moonshine runner turns out to be someone Maryanne is close to.

_**You see here? Rosco's out watching for suspects at Mr. Peabody's farm. **_(a cow moos.)_** You guess it. Someone's been tipping his cows again.**_

Rosco was out on patrol. It wasn't normal patrol. Some kids had been tipping Victor Peabody's cows. They would startle the cows while sleeping and they'd fall over. Rosco was going to catch them in the act. He stood by the fenced in pasture watching the road.

"I'm gonna get those scoundrels if it's the last thing I do." He muttered, pulling up his gun belt. Suddenly he heard a ruffling sound. Behind the fence, he saw a blonde head from behind one of the cows. Rosco snuck back to his patrol car and got to patrol car, he opens the back door and takes out a rifle. _**That there is loaded with rock salt. **_

He walked over to the perpetrators, thinking it was the Duke boys. They were just a blond haired teenager and a brown haired teenager. Disappointed Rosco told them to "Git. I'll let ye off with a warning this time. The two boys ran off.

Rosco went up to one of the cows, putting his hands out. He tried pushing the cow put noting happened. It remained stationary. He tried pushing it with his shoulder. The cow was fully awake, grazing on grass. It mooed stubbornly.

"Sheriff." A voice called from behind him.

"Enos!" Rosco nearly jumped out of his skin.

"What were ye doin?" He wasn't trying to tip one of Peabody's cows was he?

"Nothing. Hush, keep it down." The lights in the farm house turned on.

"Did ye find who's been doing it?"

"Cody Fowler and the Wakefield boy. I gave 'em a warnin." He had thought it was the Dukes. They were like Dukes in the making, back talking him like they did.

"Alright." A new voice called out from somewhere in the dark.

"It's just Enos and Sheriff Rosco Mr. Peabody." Enos said casually. Rosco still looked a little spooked.

"Did ye catch 'em?" The farmer approached them. He was wearing plaid and a hunting cap.

"Sheriff Rosco let 'em go."

"Rosco…." Peabody shouted. "You better get of my property or I'll make some use outta ye." Peabody raised his rifle filled with rock salt.

"I'm going." Rosco pushed Enos back toward were they were parked.

Bo and Luke were cruising around as usual. They saw a firebird pulled over at the side of the road. It was no mistaking it was Maryanne's.

"Hey, isn't that Maryanne?" Bo strained to see in the dark. He saw an outline of a figure up ahead.

"I wonder what she's doin out here?" What Luke saw shocked him. Two men were helping her loading boxes into the Firebirds trunk. _**There was no need to have ex-ray vision to know what was in those boxes, grade A moonshine. **_"Take the detour." Luke ordered Bo. He did not want Maryanne to see them.

_**They weren't the only witnesses. **_Boss and his driver watched also, hiding among piles of hay.

As the Duke boys drove toward home, Luke wondered. She was probably helping with Rosco and Boss with one of their schemes. She'd only help them to help the Dukes. Unless she was working for Boss, which was unlikely, she was wouldn't go behind Rosco's back like that.

She worked for the law and she was transporting moonshine. Rosco wouldn't be too happy about this.

"I think there was moonshine in those boxes."

"What?" Bo didn't believe it.

"Me neither, but whatever she's doin I'm sure there's an explanation….."

"Well let's go back and

"Now, wait Bo before we do anything we should just go home and sleep on it." He could tell that Bo was fighting the urge to protest, his jaw set firm. "We don't want to go in this over our heads."

"You said it was moonshine those fellas were loadin in her trunk."

"We don't know that for sure."

_**They next morning they filled Daisy in on their thoughts, not wanting to get Uncle Jesse involved in this. He was fond of Maryanne and would probably say that Maryanne wouldn't do such a thing. **_

"You said you were sure it was moonshine."

"I said we don't know for sure." He looped his thumbs in his belt loops. "It was dark. I didn't know what I say."

"What are you boys arguing about now?"

"Uh….nothin Uncle Jesse. We were just having a deep general conversation."

Luke nodded. "Right."

"We gotta go." Bo and Luke grabbed pieces of toast off the table.

Before they rushed out the door Uncle Jesse scolded them. "Now you boys tell me what's going on. So you can settle this. Dukes…"

"Don't fight." The Duke Cousins said in unison.

Uncle Jesse looked at them like, well, waiting for an explanation.

"Well." Bo pointed at Luke. "Me and Luke saw Maryanne while we was driving around last night and two guys were loading boxes into her car."

"Nothin strange about that." Jesse said.

"Here's the thing Uncle Jesse, we think she was haulin moonshine." Bo told him.

"We're not talkin about the same Maryanne. Rosco's Maryanne? She would do no such thing."

"You see, that's why I didn't want to bring him into this." Luke walked out of the farm house.

"She swore on the law." Jesse said to Bo, who was in the door way, about to follow the Luke out the door.

"So did Rosco, that don't mean nothing." Bo left.

"Uncle Jesse. I believeBo and Luke**." **Daisy said. "They wouldn't lie about something like this."

"She promised she'd never hurt Rosco on purpose." That woman changed Rosco's life around in over a short period of time. It was like part of the old Rosco was slowly coming back to life, but then it would die again. Jesse Rosco was still like a friend to him. He had been after Joe died, then J.D. came along and corrupted Rosco. Jesse always wondered what J.D. had said to him to get him down his own crooked path. He started to connect the dots. Rosco had said he became crooked because his pension was taken away. But did he really know by whom?

Jesse couldn't see him in that kind of turmoil again. Rosco probably wouldn't have made it, if he didn't have Maryanne. She or Rosco better not mess this up. They had a good thing going. The Dukes had more of an advantage with Maryanne. Rosco would help them out if Maryanne ordered him too.

"So she's trying not to." Daisy understood her in a way. Maybe they were having money troubles and Maryanne needed the extra money and she didn't want Rosco to know how she was taking care of it. Or perhaps she missed her old life and wanted to engage in what she left behind. But she wouldn't do that either.

"Maybe it's got to do with him. Maryanne always turns around in the end. She's on the right side of the law."

Daisy herself was starting to have second thoughts. _Was she or had she been pretending all this time? _

Uncle Jesse continued, "For now, we'll let the boys handle this one."

* * *

_At the Coltrane house, _

Rosco walked into the kitchen to find Sandy and Maryanne eating stacks of hotcakes. The little girl was drowning hers with syrup. Her mother noticed and lifted the bottle up and away from the child. "Sandy May. That's enough syrup."

The child did not argue instead she said, "Did you know in Canada they put syrup on their French fries?"

Rosco cleared his throat. Mother and daughter looked his way. Sandra had her fork half way in her mouth. She continued to take a bite. "You started breakfast without me?"

"I heard you had a rough night last night. I decided to let you get your rest." Maryanne got up and put her arms around him.

"You two get a room." The child said, watching them.

"She watches way too much TV." Maryanne eyed her husband. "Like someone else I know."

"I've been working a lot." He hadn't had time to watch any TV.

Maryanne was kind of happy about that. It left her enough time to come up with her plan. They needed the money, if Sandra was going to have a chance at a normal future. They needed to save up money for her schooling. These late hours have been tough on Rosco. It became more and more noticeable. He seemed to be aging every day. He needed all the rest he could get. She could take advantage of that to get her plan done.

"Boy, am I starving." Rosco's stomach was growling.

"You better get 'em while they're hot."

"Ooh." Sandy was too young to know what an innuendo is and that wasn't even an innuendo.

Rosco walked over to the table and sat down about to tuck into the pancakes.

"Hello, daddy." Sandy looked up at him with a grin, syrup dribbling from her chin.

Rosco beamed. He loved it when she called him daddy. It didn't seem right that she call him that. But he loved it. "Did you sleep good?" He asked through a mouth full.

"I slept quite _well_ thank you." She said back with a mouth. She was correcting his grammar but she liked how he talked. She wanted to do things just like daddy. He was a real daddy. Real daddies stayed with their families. They were a family. "You?"

"Quite well, thank you." That was the truth. It was the first time in a few weeks that he had gotten a decent sleep. He stabbed a section of hotcakes and put a fork full in his mouth. Across from the table she did the same thing, mimicking him. She was doing everything he was doing.

He liked listening to her conversations. She talked like an adult sometimes. It amazed him. When it was her turn to tuck her in at night, he'd ask her about her day and she'd say "I'm not telling until you read my a bedtime story." Or "Bed time story first." She'd always fall asleep halfway through it though.

* * *

Bo and Luke drove into town. "What would she be doin with moonshine?" Bo was still pondering himself. "If they're planning to frame us again she can't pull off the same thing she did before, switching it with water. Boss will look out for that sort of thing."

"She could be delivering it herself and Boss and Rosco have nothing to do with it."

"Why don't we ask her?"

"Here's an idea. How about we don't ask her?" Luke said sarcastically. They had to be careful about this and not get Rosco involved.

* * *

Meanwhile the Coltrane's were talking a walk down by Hazzard square. Maryanne was off duty today, enough time to deliver the boxes.

"I was wonderin if we could call Sandy something else." He started thinking. Sandy May would be starting Kindergarten pretty soon.

"Why? There's nothing wrong with her name." Maryanne said.

"Kids are just mean. They call each other names." He knew how that was. He was called slow, dumb, and retarded. His classmate's favorite cruel nickname for him was Rosco Pee Coltrane. Joe or Lulu always had to put an end to it.

That memory was now fresh in him mind again. A kid named Billy had been one of his bullies. He had started the Rosco Pee Coltrane thing. It had started with, "Do you wet the bed? Because your name is Rosco Pee Coltrane."

"What do you think they'll call her?" Maryanne asked. He was acting protective toward her daughter even though

"Like Annie's dog. They'll sing that song everywhere she goes." He started humming "Sandy."

Sandy came up singing the words. She was wearing a cowgirl hat and wearing boots, she ever had a toy gun in a holster around her waist.

"Her full name is Cassandra." Maryanne took it into suggestion. She didn't want kids calling her child a dog. When she herself was a girl kids had called her "Crazy Annie." instead of orphan Annie.

When she stopped singing, she brushed a strand of hair out of the way and voiced her thoughts. "I can go by a lot of things. Cassie, Sandy, Sandra."

"Which one do you like?" Her mother asked her.

"I like Cassie."

"Cassie May Coltrane. How does that sound?"

"I love it. I love it." Cassie cheered.

"Cassie rhymes with lassie." Rosco said when Cassie was out of ear shot.

"They won't think of that, unless you open your mouth." She whispered in his ear as she walked past with Cassie.

"What did you say to daddy?"

"Nothing, let's go to the park."

They ran into the Duke boys.

"My name is Cassie now." She told the boys.

"What is her name exactly?" Bo thought it was actually Sandy.

"Cassandra." Maryanne answered.

"Why'd ye call her Sandy?"

"Then she would've been Cassie Casey." The boys nodded in agreement.

Cassie got the boys attention by showing them her little trick on the monkey bars. Her little trick was swinging from two bars and jumping down.

"Wonder where she got her dare devil side from." Bo said, jokingly.

"I guess we'll never know." Maryanne joked back.

Cassie skipped over to them. "From my daddy. When I grow up I wanna be a poice ofifer just like him." She took out her toy gun and pointed it at Bo. "Awright you Dukes stick 'em up."

Bo put his hands up; he nudged Luke, who put his hands up.

"I think you're supposed to say freeze." Bo then started running.

The boys actually had fun. The little girl was entertaining. Her imitation of Rosco was exactly right, better than Bo's.

She went back over to her mother, when they out ran her. "Rats they got away."

Bo and Luke came running back over.

"You're gonna grow up chasin Dukes huh?" Bo took off her hat and messed up her hair.

"Just like my daddy, but only for fun like he does." Bo put the hat back on her head. It slid down over her eyes.

Luke looked in Rosco's direction. He looked kind of flustered.

Enos came over Rosco's radio he had clipped to his belt. ""Sheriff, there's talk of a moonshine operation. Mr. Hogg said he saw some suspicious fellas haulin some boxes."

Rosco jumped and his hand flew to the radio, but he did not answer it. "Judas priest on a pony."

Maryanne put her hands over Cassie's ears. "Rosco, not in front of the K-I-D."

"Ooh, Daddy said a bad word." Her mother took her hands off her ears. "Someone has to put a nickel in the swear jar." She put out her palm.

Maryanne seemed in a hurry, like Bo and Luke expected. Rosco didn't expect a thing at all. He went on his way, probably to go meet Boss. The Dukes didn't decide to follow Maryanne until Rosco left.

Maryanne had dropped Cassie off at Lulu's. She shouldn't have taken off. But the fellas she were delivering it to were waiting on a pacific deadline. If she didn't deliver it in time then she was in trouble. If they came here she could have Enos, Cletus, and the Dukes to help her out of it but she didn't want Rosco involved. Where ever the Dukes were involved, Rosco ended up being. One of her tires was flat. She pulled over to change it. Rosco pulled up behind her. He offered to help her with the flat tire and went around to the back to get the tire jack.

"No, I got it." She rushed over to the trunk; Rosco was already lifting it up.

He looked inside and what did he see, boxes filled with jars of moonshine."What…what are you doin?"

"I was…..delivering it for a…friend." She knew Rosco had caught the lie. "Ok. I needed the extra money. You know Boss doesn't pay enough…."

"But it's enough to get by. You can't be doin this. You're the law now."

The General Lee sped past, sirens on its tail. Another car was behind them.

A man with dirty blond hair got out.

"Artie!" Maryanne ran to him and threw her arms around him. She turned to Rosco, who had a confused look on his face. She explained to him, "This is my brother."

"So, you're my brother in law." Artie spoke with an accent like Maryanne's.

The Boar's Nest had the usual crowd.

Rosco was sitting in one of the booths, Cassie sitting on his lap, eating her dinner. The Dukes were sitting a few booths away getting to know Maryanne's brother.

"What brings you here?" Bo asked Artie. He seemed like a likable guy.

"You know, just visiting." He didn't want them to know what he was really here for. He was here on business, to deliver moonshine for someone named Boss Hogg.

"How did you find me?" Maryanne asked her older brother. He was six years old than Maryanne.  
"Just a coincidence I guess."

Maryanne trained her eyes on him. She could sense that he wasn't telling the whole truth. She got the same vibe when from Rosco sometimes.

"Well I got to get going, have someone to meet." He waved to them and stood up, walking backwards. When he turned around he ran into a waitress, the tray she was holding went flying, food everywhere.

"Yeah, they're defiantly related." Luke said.

Momma Coltrane went to the Boar's Nest. She never went to the Boar's Nest, unless she had to talk to her son. It had been weeks since he had last seen him.

Rosco was talking to some folks. After talking to them, he turned around and who was standing there but, "Momma! What are you doin here?"

"It's been weeks since my own. You get married and move out and have no time for your momma anymore."

"Momma, it's not…." He was tired of having been coddled by her all of his life. It was like she had been doing it so he'd never leave her. She believed that no woman could take care of him better than his own mother, and why do you need a wife when you have your mother to take care of you.

She hadn't protested this time when he officially married and moved out. Why was she butting into his business now? Now he loved him momma very much but so long ago he was ready to break free from her. "Momma I'm a married man now. I got my own family."

"That's no excuse to not come see me." There was silence between mother and son. She felt she was finally losing him. "Why don't you come stay with me a few days….." All she did was wanted to spend time with her son. She still wasn't fully accepting that her baby had a life of his own.

"I can't. I'm happy now." He was being accepted by somebody else other than his mother. He wasn't lonely anymore, except for long hours he had to work at night for Boss.

"She makes you happy but she's got you worryin too much" She stood on her tip toes and brushed a strand of his hair. "You're getting gray hair."

"I'm getting old momma." It was them Dukes. But his momma knew him better than anybody. He was half right that it was worry that was turning his hair grey, making him look older than he was. He also put on a little weight.

"You're only forty-eight."

"I'm fifty-three."

"No matter how old you get you'll still be my baby."

Bo turned around in his booth and stood up. "Rosco's a mama's boy." He was on his way out.

"Ain't nothing wrong with that, Bo." Luke said as he walked passed, patting Rosco on the shoulder.

Rosco put up his fist, "If you touch me again….I'm just gonna….eng."

* * *

"I got extra bottles of shine." Artie said. "I might have to charge you extra."

"Of course." Boss would Welch on the rest of that payment. "And you know where the Duke boys are going to be."

Artie nodded. "With me."

* * *

After chasing the Dukes as usual, Rosco's patrol car was damaged. It was nothing Cooter can't handle. Rosco waited while Cooter fixed the car.

Rosco grumbled about the Dukes being the end of him someday.

"Rosco, you're more than likely bite it by one of Boss's deals gone wrong or the mountains'll get ye." Cooter teased. He expected the Sheriff to shout at him or say something like, "Cooter, hush." But he didn't. Instead he went on his way toward the Courthouse.

At the courthouse Rosco over heard Boss's conversation with one of his hires, a skilled moonshine runner named Lucky. He worked with Maryanne's brother. That couldn't be good. Boss wanted to exclude him from his schemes, he had no problem with that. He had other things on his mind, like why Maryanne was hauling moonshine. Was the friend she mentioned earlier really her brother she was doing it for?

He'd find her and get rid of it. As an officer he should turn her in. But she was his wife. If they both got caught, he'd take the blame.

* * *

Maryanne was finding herself in more trouble, if she didn't get rid of that moonshine. She was going to leave to deliver it but was preocuppied by Rosco. She made normal conversation so he wouldn't supsect anything. He already knew about the moonshine in her trunk but he never brought it up.

They were over at the Duke farm for dinner. They didn't know that they were being tailed by Artie's partner, Lucky.

"What was that all about at the park today?" Maryanne asked her husband.

"She's been copying me all day." He looked down the table where Cassie sat between Bo and Luke.

"Rosco, she'd been copying you because she looks up to you." Maryanne informed him. How hadn't he seen it?

"She sure does look up to you Rosco." Jesse confirmed. "

Artie sat down at the table, telling them he'd been trying to reach a friend.

"Is he the one you had to meet today?" Maryanne asked him. "You had to run off in a hurry."

"I belive he was the friend talking to Boss Hogg." Rosco said as he across the table where the bowl of corn was. He put some onto his plate. He and Artie made eye contact but Artie had to look away from those blue persing eyes. The coversation was dropped and didn't continue when the tension was sensed in the room.

Daisy put more bread on the table.

After dinner Rosco gave the boys the ticket he tried to issue them earlier.

"I knew inviting them to dinner was a bad idea." Bo said awhile after Rosco and Maryanne and her brother left. Who could have predicted that Rosco was going to give them a ticket. The boys then got into conversation about Rosco mother at the Boars Nest earlier that day.

"Uncle Jesse we never asked, about…" Bo paused looking to Luke. "Rosco's father."

"Coltrane's always wore badges; as far back as the civil war I believe. But not Eliot. He was the only Coltrane to ever run moonshine."

"I don't mean what he did. I mean what was he like?"

"Usually kept to himself. He was a hard worker. He wouldn't quit till he got the job done."

"Like Rosco." Luke said. Rosco never stopped until he got the right man.

"That's where he get it from." Bo always wondered, perhaps that were he got his stubbornness too. They always known about Mrs. Coltrane but there was never a Mr. Coltrane around, even when they had first come to Hazzard as young children. "What happened to 'im." Bo wondered if he was alive somewhere and probably ran off. There was so much about Rosco they didn't know. Like his father, he kept to himself.

"He died of a heart attack. Folks were telling him to take it easy but he didn't listen." There was a silence for a few seconds. "You all have something to relate too."

"What's that?" Luke asked. What could they possibly have in common?

"You lost your father's at the young age."

Bo and Luke, Daisy, and Enos had lost their fathers, when they had been between the ages of four and ten. Bo was four when he lost his daddy. He was killed by the same fire that claimed Luke's father and both their mothers. Luke had been ten. Daisy's mother and father died when she was six.

* * *

Artie spend the rest of the day with the Dukes. In her Firebird, Maryanne was riding along side the Dukes, who were riding along with Artie. She demanded her brother to tell her what he was really doing here.

"You're running moonshine?" Maryanne wasn't asking, she was shouting into the CB mike.

"Artie, if we get caught me and Luke can go to jail. " Bo said. "We got ten years probation from hauling this stuff."

"I didn't know." Artie said honestly.

"For Boss Hogg?" Maryanne had warned him about him and he hadn't listened. "Meet me back in town, we'll have a talk about this."

Boss had set him up to set up the Dukes without knowing it. Artie would tell her. It was simple as that.

The Firebird speed ahead of them until it was out of sight.

Sirens sounded behind them. The Duke boys would give anything it was Enos, Cletus or even Rosco. But it wasn't. Behind them were the state police and Sheriff Little. Boss had informed Little of the Dukes hauling moonshine. Enos and Cletus did show up and Enos got them out of it, as they were still in Hazzard County it was their juristiction.

Lucky was watching from a short distance.

* * *

Lucky thought that Artie had betrayed him. He had family that was cops. Artie was going to pay, with blood. He was lucky his sister was too pretty to kill. The thing he hated more than a deputy was a Sheriff.

The shooter saw the Hazzard County Sheriff, chatting with his deputy below. The shooter was hiding up in Cooter's loft above the garage. It was a spot that had the whole view of the town. Behind him Cooter was sitting on a trunk his hands tied and a gag tied around his mouth.

Cooter could have made a move but he noticed the man had a clear shot and threatened to shoot Rosco if he did anything.

Lucky decided to shoot the cop anyway. But the deputy was too close. Once the young deputy was out of shooting range, he'd pull the trigger.

Cooter watched Luky's finger as it hesitated on the trigger. _One false move and Rosco's a goner._ I was only teasing that he'd more than likely met his end by one of Boss's deals gone wrong or the mountains'll get 'im.

Am I going to live with this guilt the same way Rosco lived with his?

Lucky couldn't miss. He had him right in his line of fire. One shot and the bullet would directly go through the cop's chest. He'd die instantly. Lucky glanced at the mechanic to make sure he didn't do anything stupid. Either way he'd still shoot. He got back into position, squinting through the sniper lens.

The deputy nodded at the Sheriff as he was given a piece of paper. Then the deputy walked away.

He had to do it now. He pressed down on the trigger.

When he pressed down on trigger, nothing happened. It wasn't like the trigger was jammed. He couldn't even get his finger to press down on it. Not only that was the problem, something else was keeping him from shooting the Sheriff.

Enos saw what the Duke Boys saw within a second. The Sheriff was in danger. Rosco was like a magnet for trouble and danger. Enos dove and tackled the Sheriff to the ground. But there was no gun fire. The boys and Cooter had successfully disarmed the shooter. Enos smiled and laughed. "They got 'im Sheriff. They got 'im."

* * *

For obstruction of justice, Maryanne was stripped of her badge and could never work as a police officer in the State of Georgia or anywhere. (It was either that or being charged with haulin moonshine.) Rosco had tried taking the blame for her. He was guilty of that on many counts.

"Maybe, it's about time I retire."

"No, Rosco." She couldn't let him do that. " I ain't gonna lie." **_Well she did bend the truth a little bit. That she tried to help get rid of the evidence and Lucky framed her brother. _**_**Lucky was the one that got the real sentance.** **And all was well in Hazzard** **County...almost.**_

After an arguement with her brother she went to the Duke farm. And she took out what her brother did on them.

* * *

"We've never meant any harm to Rosco," Luke said. "You don't understand how things are here in Hazzard. He's not really our enemy...he's..."

"You're friend?" Maryanne suggested.

"He can be," Bo said. "Sometimes..."

"Sometimes," Maryanne pointed out. "And what is he when he's not your friend?"

Bo looked at Luke now for help. The cousins seemed to be doing nothing more than burying themselves deeper.

"I guess the only way to put it is that we tend to annoy each other. A lot," Luke said.

"I see. You annoy him by leadfootin' around Hazzard breaking every vehicular law in the book. You annoy him by managing to capture a few criminals here and there, making Rosco look like a fool and incompetent law man. You annoy him probably enough just by the fact that you two didn't get jail time when you were busted for running moonshine. You use your probation as a way of snubbing your noses at the law."

**_I sense an argument a brewin. I hope it doesn't end long. But you can't predict what's gonna happen. Ya'll come back now, ye hear?_**


	18. The Order of the Strate and Narrow

Chapter 18: The Order of the Strate and Narrow

-Enos is Charge? Enos is made temporarily County Commissioner during Sadie Hogg Day.

* * *

The town square was busy with shopers, a gaggle of young teenage girls parading down the sidewalk. Old Lady Helderson was walking her dog. Buisness owners wer coming back from their lunch breaks. The General Lee was parked right behind Uncle Jesse's truck. Jesse was loading his truck with groceries, Daisy helping with the big bags of food for the farm animals.

Bo was sitting on the window sill of the General, watching the young girls go by. The group of girls, turned and waved at him. "Hi." A few of them chorused flirtatiously.

Bo almost fell out of the window but he caught himself. The girls giggled even louder.

"Would you stop?" Daisy made a acid comment toward Bo's womanizing antics. "And help me get these into the bed. This is supposed to be your job."

"She's right." Bo said, turning to Luke, peering inside at him. "We shouldn't let a pretty young lady handle all the hard work, let alone our cousin."

Bo almost fell out of the window but he caught himself. The girls giggled even louder.

"What's the worst she's gonna do?" Luke joined in. "She might break a nail."

Daisy scowled at him, hands on her hips. But then a smile spread on her face.

"Ok, that's enough you two." Jesse said.

At the same time, Rosco was patrolling the streets, waiting for traffic violators, pacifically the Dukes. The Duke boys were parked across the street. "I'm gonna get 'em now Flash." Rosco said through his patrol car window. Flash raised her head, looking at him weary-eyed before she put her head back down.

_**Now folks say Jesse Duke is the most strongest man in Hazzard County. And Rosco is the most stubborn and Enos wasn't the most smartest. **_

_**Ya'll want to put that to the test?**_

Enos and Cletus walked out of the sheriff's department at the same time, getting stuck in the doorframe. Cletus squeezes his way out, stubbles and bumps into Rosco nearly knocking him over.

_**Bewteen Enos and Cletus, I think it's a draw.**_

"Jit, jit." Rosco instinctively put a hand to his gun but he did not draw it. He turned around to see, both Enos and Cletus standing behind him.

He hesitantly raised his fist at each deputy, wondering which one to yell at. "You….Which one of you done try to scuff me?"

Enos pointed at Cletus. Cletus saw Enos pointing him.

"Enos." Cletus exclaimed.

"It was you that did it." Enos said honestly.

Cletus turned to Rosco. "It was an accident Sheriff."

"I don't care if it was an accident." Cletus stared at Rosco his mouth agape. The Sheriff continued, "Go on out on patrol. I don't want to hear from ye until you can prove useful." Cletus made an attempt to protest but Rosco ushered him on. "Git."

Cletus stormed off upset.

* * *

Jesse and Daisy got into his truck and drove away from the curb. Bo was about to do the same, when he noticed Rosco wearing something other than his Sheriff's unifrom. Bo and Luke watched as Rosco looked both ways, waiting for traffic to pass.

"What is Rosco doing wearing a white suite?" Bo asked.

"It's Sadie Hogg day tomorrow." Luke reminded him. "I give you one guess who's running for temporary Boss."

"He looks better in that getup than Boss." Bo laughed.

"What do reckon he wants this time?" Luke nodded toward Rosco's direction.

"Beats me." Bo said as he put the General in gear. "I'm not going to stick around and find out." Before Rosco got to the General, Bo reversed a few several feet and spun the General around. When they looked back, Rosco was standing in the middle of the street but he wasn't shaking his fist.

"You think he'll be trying to get us to vote for him?" Bo asked.

"It depends on who else is running." They would probably have to vote for Rosco anyway, if he was the only one running.

* * *

Enos was in Boss's office at the courthouse. He'd do a favor for the boys, if Boss was up to one of his schemes.

"You, run for temporary county commissioner?" Boss asked in disbelief. Enos is charge that would be a disaster. He'd have to put Enos in as a candidate. He had no choice in the matter. _**Usually Lulu would be temporary Boss but J.D. had another idea in mind. Since Boss was leaving everything of his to Rosco, he had to make sure his county was in the right hands, or wrong hands, however you want to put it.**_

"No one else signed up, and it's not fair that only Sheriff Rosco is runnin. If you only had him running folks might be mighty suspicious."

"Alright, alright, alright." Boss said just to get him out of his hair, what was left of it. Enos didn't stand a chance, did he? But he was right.

"Thank you Mr. Hogg, sir."

* * *

Bo and Luke went free riding for awhile in the General, wondering why Rosco wasn't giving chase. Maybe he did want them to vote for him. They decided to double back, but that was a big mistake. Rosco was ready for them this time. As soon as he found them he lost them, as usual. He stopped alongside the country road.

Coming down the road a piece was Miss Tisdale on her motorbike. She worked at the post office for over forty years and showed no signs of slowing down or retiring.

"Delivery." She stopped in the middle of the Road. Rosco got out of his patrol car, slamming the door. "I need to see some Identification."

"What do you think you're doing? You can't park that there."

"Rosco Purvis Coltrane, don't you speak to me in that tone. I knew you since you were a babe." Miss Tisdale said. She was eighty-seven (maybe eighty-eight.) and still going strong, still had her mind. Her husband had died almost three decades ago. She seemed to be there for everybody, she would be if you asked her to be.

She was there when Mrs. Evie Coltrane gave birth to her third child and only son. Growing up Rosco never got into trouble but he got into trouble by his oldest sister Hortense. That child had had a nasty streak. Where ever she was, Rosco was nowhere to be found. The oldest Coltrane sibling and the youngest Coltrane sibling always clashed. But Lulu and Rosco had always gotten along. She never once had seen them fight. Rosco tried arguing with Lulu's decisions on what's best for him on some occasions, but he eventually would give in. He had spent his whole life accepting what people thought was best for him, most of it from his momma.

Emma Tisdale had been friends with Evelyn for a long time. She was too over possessive of her son after her husband Eliot died. Emma had told her she had to "let the child breath." He needed some direction but too much of it; he wouldn't know how to make decision for himself. It was no wondered to her why Rosco let Boss order him around and carried them out even if he didn't agree. He did the same, pining after Joe Duke till the day he died. He still had grown into a fine young man, and grown man. He seemed cranky and rude to others all the time but there was too much love in him that Miz Tisdale didn't buy it.

"If you known me since then, you don't need my identification." Rosco said.

"It's in the job description." Miss Tisdale knew Rosco couldn't argue with that. Rosco believed in doing eveything the job recuired.

Rosco sighed and took out his wallet. He showed her his driver's license.

"Pen please." Costumers were always wondering off with her pens at the post office. "Sign please." She handed him the clip board she took out of her satchel. Rosco signed, with his left hand. His pa had been also left handed.

"Thank you." She took the clipboard from him. She handed him his mail and took off on her motorbike.

**_Soon everyone knew that Enos was running for temporary commissioner and it wasn't a surprise when he won the vote. It didn't make Boss too happy. _**

"Enos had a hundred and nintey-eight votes and Rosco had four. Who did you vote for?"

Bo was silent to Luke's question.

"You voted for Rosco?"

* * *

Enos was dressed in a gray suite and blue tie Daisy had picked out for him. He walked out of his temporary office at the courthouse, whistling. Rosco was sitting at the booking desk. It felt awkward for Enos that he was in charge of his Boss, his superior officer. And it didn't feel right that he was playing double spy for both sides. He told Rosco that he was stepping out for a few moments. The Sheriff was too busy, filling out paper work and watching over a young minor, who often got into trouble. Rosco just waved Enos away with looking up. The teenage girl sat in front of the booking desk, arms crossed.

* * *

Cooter was under the hood. He couldn't get the engine of the car he was fixing to sound right.

"Try pressing down the throttle." The familiar voice made him look up.

"Maryanne I tried that already…"

Maryanne bent under the hood and then less than a few seconds, the engine was purring like a kitten. Cooter stood there, shocked and impressed. "You're something else, you know that?"

Maryanne grinned. "Yeah, a lot of people tell me that.

"Maryanne, I was wonderin' somethin…" Cooter began. He was starting to wish he had dropped the thought. But it had been bugging him the day Maryanne returned to Hazzard. It surprised him when she knew what he was talking about. He just didn't get woman, especially Maryanne. She was something else. And he meant that in a good way.

"Me too. I sometimes wonder if I woulda saw you first I woulda fallen in love with you."

"Ye really think so?" Cooter looked up at her as she sat on the hood of the firebird.

"Nah, I don't feel the same as I do with Rosco. There'd be too many problems between us."

"Ditto." He whipped his hands with his stained oil cloth. "If it'd been in a reverse situation, the Lord forbid."

"Eh." She said a bit offended.

"Maryanne, you are one attractive female. " He paused. "But you're just not my type."

With that she smiled.

* * *

Liza Jane was at the Sheriff's department for the third time in six weeks.

"I told you didn't have to call my pa, I didn't steal anything." The teenager had her arms crossed, sitting in front of the Sheriff's desk. She was bored that she was playing with the stapler, shifting it hand from hand, turning it over. It was getting on Rosco's nerves. The Sheriff reached over and grabbed the stapler from her.

"Would you like me to speak to your pa or would you rather do hard time?" Rosco said sarcastically, getting up from the booking desk.

Her arms crossed again, she rolled her eyes when the Sheriff's back was turn. **_Your typical rebel teenager, even Hazzard has 'em. _**"You don't understand he blows everything out of proportion."

A blonde haired woman and a man wearing black walk into the Sheriff's department. The man had a sucker in his mouth, yeah that's real threatening for a thug. A second man wearing a baseball cap came in.

"Something I can do you folks for?"

"Howdy." The man said, "We thought you could give up a little help."

The man with the hat closed the blinds.

"Sit down." The woman ordered Rosco. She pushed him into the chair and slapped him across the face.

Luke entered the Sheriff's department. The instant he walked in a gun was pointed at him.

**_You see_**, **_when the Dukes don't go lookin for trouble, they walk right into it. _**

America pointed her gun at the first sign of movement, just another country bumpkin. "Stay right there. We're just talking to the Sheriff." She had improvised by tying the Shers hands to the chair's arms with his gun belt and used his other belt to use as a gag.

"Who's doing the talkin? You are the gun?"

The blonde woman only smirked.

"We're uh…lookin for a friend of ours." Vince said. "The Sheriff he hasn't been accommodating this far."

Luke looked over where a young teenage girl sat frightened. She gave him a desperate pleading look. "I can take you to anyone you need to find. Let them go. I know this town's back roads better 'n anyone."

"This isn't an negotiation."

"It is to me."

"Ok." Vince reached inside his jacket and pulled out a gun. "Let's negotiate." He pointed the gun at the Sheriff. He walked over to him and backed ended his fist, holding the gun, at the Sheriff's head. He'd leave a good sized wound, to tell the country boy they weren't messing around. But Vince wanted nothing more than to stick the pig.

"That's enough." Luke shouted.

The man from outside came in, pointing a gun into Luke's back, bad mistake. Luke spun around and easily snatched the weapon from the assassin's hand. And put him in a head lock. "Put the gun down." Luke ordered.

"He ain't my friend."

"You got that right."

"Why don't you go ahead and do it."

The woman had her gun pointed at

"Get the gun off the girl."

"America, take the gun off the girl sweetheart."

America gave him a disbelieving look.

"Don't make me shoot this." Luke shot the gun but it didn't shoot. He wasn't going to shoot the man.

"That must've been disappointing." Vince laughed.

The man in Luke's grasp easily got out of Luke's hold once he loosened it.

"See I'm on step ahead of you. " Vince said. "You think I'd let you carry a loaded gun after what you did?"

"What do you need from me?" Luke asked, stepping forward.

Vince traced his gun on him. "Like I said before we got a friend missin in the woods. You're gonna help us find him."

The man in the cap spoke, "We think he's gonna cross the border on foot."

"The Sheriff stays but the girl comes with us. If you follow us Sheriff you're gonna be short two civilians." He turned to Luke. "And you if you mess up and try to go to the police, this girls blood is on your hands. Can you dig that?"

"Yeah." As Luke hollowed the hit men out, he gave Rosco a wink. That was a signal to call for help, which meant Bo and Jesse.

Rosco nodded.

* * *

The journey through the woods was silent except for a few birds chirping. Behind him the man with the hat and the dark skinned man, who's name was Tom, were exchanging words but Luke couldn't heat what was being said.

"We're gonna be ok, kid. We're gonna get out of this." Luke said to Liza Jane. He didn't see a way out but it gave the girl hoped. He hoped she wouldn't see the same. If she did he'd let her down. Like he would let his family down. He'd still be in the marines until he retired. Ten years ago he came back and not because "he missed everybody and he had been discharged." There was another reason why he had gotten discharged. He had been let go from the marines for "mis orderly conduct." Uncle Jesse, who had been a Korean war and WWII vet, would be disappointed. He'd let his cousins down, whom both looked up to him. He wasn't worried about disappointing them. He hadn't deserved to be kicked out of the marines, the other guy had started the fight. It hadn't matterd to them. He got kicked out and the other guy stayed.

He could handle these guys, if they didn't have their guns. He noticed the ones holding them hostage, only a few of them had guns, two at least. If they pointed the gun a certain way, he could grab it from their hand. But that'd leave the other one free to fire. Bo would be a little of help right now. Luke believed in working together made you stronger and it evend out the differences. But sometimes the kid was more bullheaded than Rosco. Luke done a lot of growing up the past twenty years. Bo on the other hand was still his reckless self but he wasn't as careless as when he was a teenager.

* * *

A small trickle of blood leaked from the wound in his temple, where the gun had connected with the side of his head. The rest of the blood was starting to dry. He was feeling a little woozy.

Enos entered, having missed all the fun. "Sheriff you wouldn't believe. Maryanne's been fixin cars over at Cooter's. She….." The sight before him made him stop mid sentence. Seeing his superior tied up, he rushed over and untied him.

"What day 'n age you livin in? You haven't seen a woman fixin a car?" He walked to the other side of the room to where the CB was.

"Sheriff, what happened? "

Rosco grabbed the CB mike. Before he could press the button, disorientation set in. His vision was a little blurry causing his to stumble into the desk. He put his hands on the desk, CB mike still in one hand. He closed his eyes hoping after a second the dizziness would go away. He wanted to put a hand to his throbbing temple but hesitated.

"You took a quite knock to the head." Enos took note as he walked up to the Sheriff. He was acting pretty strange.

"Oh yeah…this…." He raised his free hand but hesitated yet again. Instead he pointed at it.

"You should get that taken care of. I'll call Doc Appleby for ye."

"No." Rosco shouted. He had to reach the Duke farm. Maybe he'd do it in his patrol car. He walked toward Enos. He couldn't stand it anymore he had to touch the side of his head.

He put his hand to his temple and withdrew it. He couldn't stand the sight of his own blood. Rosco leaned forward; Enos who stood in front of him grabbed him and lowered him halfway to the ground. He let him fall from his grasp.

Enos waited till the Sheriff came around.

"Bo called on the CB, said Luke was missin. Liza Jane's pa called. She's missin too." The deputy offered a hand to Rosco. Rosco ignored it.

"They took off with 'em. I can't send anybody…"

"I better take you to the hospital."

"No. I need to call Jesse." He was starting to pull himself up but to no avail.

Enos put out his hand again. "Let me help you up sheriff."

"No." Rosco pushed his hand away. Rosco didn't like having anyone's help. He didn't want anyone to see him vulnerable and weak. They thought he was incompetent. He didn't want them to call him weak too. He couldn't be weak for this job. He put on his "Sheriff's mask" the best he could. He ignored the unsteady thump of his heart. He slowly pulled himself up and walked back over to the CB.

Enos had a feeling that the Sheriff was ill and it wasn't just the head wound.

Boss came out of his office.

Enos had hold around the Sheriff's arm to steady him. Rosco quickly

"He ain't goin' nowhere."

"Mr. Hogg, I'm temporary Boss and I say he's goin home to rest."

"I need to contact the Dukes first..." Rosco was intrupted

Boss gasped. "You weren't jokin. You must be ill."

"Three fellas and a gal came in here and they took off with Luke and the Alderson girl."

"Liza Jane, the one who went missing?" Enos asked.

"Boss, I saw it with my own eyes, the wacked me upside the head and kidnapped Luke and..."

"What do you know, you know nothin. That knock to your head probably scrambled your brains more you don't know what you saw."

"But Boss..."

" Just get home and get some rest until yer brain starts working for what's normal for you."

Rosco took in a sharp intake of breath. It seemed to hitch in his throat. Then he turned and ran out the courthouse. Enos never seen him so upset before.

"I'll send you and Cletus on it right away." Boss said.

"Sheriff Rosco said he couldn't send anybody, they must mean law enfocement. That could put Luke and Liza Jane in danger."

"Then you and Cletus get out to the Duke farm right away. And make sure Sheriff Rosco doesn't set on foot on that property."

* * *

Rosco climbed into his patrol car and CB'd the Duke farm. To his distaste Bo anwsered, he'd rather it was Daisy or Jesse even. He filled Bo in about what happened. "They headed for the woods."

"Does Rosco know what direction they's went?" Bo asked.

"They're armed and dangerous."

"So we'll have to be packing some serious fire power." Bo was talking about gathering as many bows and arrows and dinomite as he could. Bo hung up and told Daisy and Uncle Jesse.

**Bo got Daisy and Uncel Jesse up to date about what was happening and where Luke was. But Bo was finding it might supsicious. **

"Rosco would never lie about something like that." Daisy said. It suprised Bo.

"Daisy's right." Jesse said. "When a Duke's in danger a Coltrane never lies even if there's a rotten one in the bunch."

"Yeah." Bo said. He guessed that he was right.

"I'll reach Cooter at the garage and tell him what's up. Like you said we need some serious fire power."

Bo looked at him questioningly. All Jesse gave him was a mischievious twinkling in his eyes as he left the kitchen.

Bo taught Daisy how to tie sticks of dynamite to the arrows and balance it out so the wait of the arrow wouldn't be to heavy. She was as stuborn as Bo, at first trying to do it all herself.

* * *

They had Enos help, but to insure they didn't know he was law enforcment they had him dress in civilian clothing. Cletus on the other hand was miles down the road setting up a road block. That didn't stop the hit men, they just plowed right through Cletus's patrol car. Just when they thought they made a clean getaway, they were assualted by Bo and Daisy's arrows. Jesse shot out one of the tires with his rifle, that didn't stop them. Up the road, Cooter had the road blocked with his tow truck that finally stopped them for sure.

_**Well they got Luke and Liza Jane home safe, saved by the Hazzard Calvery. Hazzard is full of suprises, I don't know where you've been if you didn't know that by now. You know what they say a little help can go a long way, even for those in Hazzard County. **_


	19. What is and What Should Never Be

19. What is and What Should Never Be

-Someone has a dream of an alternate Hazzard. What would it be like if Joe and Lea didn't die? One Duke causes some real trouble. It might not be the same Ole Hazzard. But it's the same Ole trouble.

* * *

**_It was just another ordinary Boar's Nest Saturday Night or so you would think. _**

Bo was playing a game of pool with a few fellas after the first round he bowed out. He didn't want to continue another game.

"Are you chicken?" The Hustler asked.

_Oh, no._ Luke thought. He was standing by the bar but he was within ear shot to hear what was going on. He knew what was going to happen. Bo didn't take it well when people called him that word.

Bo turned around. "What did say?"

"I said, are you chicken?"

"Nobody calls Bo Duke a chicken and gets away with it." Bo was face to face with the stranger, his fists clenched by his sides. He shoved the hustler hard. The hustler was knocked off balance and fell backward into a chair, slightly dazed.

Uncle Jesse watched were he sat. "Now Bo, don't do anything stupid." The boy was just like his Uncle Joe. Maybe that was why Rosco got more agitated with Bo more than any other Duke.

Luke joined in to try to hold the hustler and Bo at bay.

"Awright, break it up." Rosco came over and grabbed Bo's arm behind his back. "I know you started it Bo Duke. "

"When I start something you do something about it when Luke starts something you don't do a thing about it."

"Of course I…."

He jerked his hand out of Rosco's grasp. "You don't need to show me out." Bo walked toward the door, shaking his head as he did so. His blond hair flopped around his face, in a similar way Joe's always did.

Rosco rested his hand on Jesse's chair, starting after the Duke boy.

Jesse leaned toward the Sheriff. "Rosco, he ain't Joe." Jesse told him, making sure he had a reality check.

Rosco sighed, avoiding eye contact with Jesse.

"Just…take it easy on him. Don't be too hard on him because he reminds you of 'im."

Rosco finally turned to Jesse, daring to look into his eyes. "Don't tell me what to do Jesse. I might listen to other folks, and let 'em push me around but I'm not listening to a Duke." His face reddened, but with what, frustration, embarrassment, anger? There was no question that Rosco was thinking about Joe but it was a question as to what he was feeling.

* * *

Rosco went to bed thinking what it might have been like if Joe and Lea were alive. Then he found himself wishing that his friends were alive. Before he could fully think on it, he fell asleep. When he woke up, sun was shining through the window. Maryanne still wasn't home. He got dressed for work but couldn't find his badge.

While he was out on patrol Luke CB'd him asking him to come out to the farm.

"We made a place for you Rosco." Daisy said, setting a plate down in front of him on the picnic table.

"Why are you bein nice to me?" It had to be a dream. They were never this nice. What were they up to?

"Why wouldn't we be Rosco?" Jesse asked the lawman. Rosco just stared at him for a moment, and then faced Luke, who was seated across from him.

"I'm sorry for giving you boys a ticket the other day."

"Sorry?" At first Rosco thought Luke was angry. "You didn't give us any ticket, Bo maybe, but there's no need to apologize for it."

"Luke." Jesse scolded his nephew. "He'll grow out of it sooner or later."

"He's twenty-eight." There was no chance of Bo changing soon.

* * *

AN: I will update again soon. I have bee having writers block plus I've been busy.


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